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Our  government  is  built  upon  tlie  vote. 
But  votes  that  are  purchasable  are  quicksands, 
and  a  government  built  on  them  stands  upon 
corruption  and  revolution. — Beecher. 


Real  political  issues  cannot  ie  manufac- 
tured by  the  leaders  of  political  parties,  and 
real  ones  cannot  be  evaded  by  political  parties. 
The  real  political  issues  of  the  day  declare 
themselves,  and  come  out  of  the  depths  of  that 
deep  which  we  call  public  opinion. — Garfield. 


J5he  Free   Pa^ss 
Bribery  System 


Showing   How  the  Railroads,  Through  the 

Free  Pass  Bribery  System,  Procure 

the   Government   Away 

from  the  People 


BY 

GEORGE  W.  BERGE 


1905 

THE  INDEPENDENT  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

LINCOLN,  NEBRASKA. 


COPYRIGHT,  19CB, 

by  george  w.  berge 


HE 

£45  ^ 


Contents 

Page 
Portrait Frontispiece 

Introduction vii 

CHAPTER  I. 
The  Free  Pass-Holders  a  Policing  Squad  for  the 

Railroads 1 

CHAPTER  II. 
The    Most    Powerful    Weapon    of    This    Policing 
Squad  is  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System     .       9 

CHAPTER  III. 
The  Free  Pass  Machine  is  Placed  in  the  Hands 

of  Capable  Managers 16 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Professional  Pass  Distributors   and  Pass   Super- 
intendents        21 

CHAPTER  V. 
Treason  of  Old  Time  Pass-Holders       ...     30 

CHAPTER  VI. 
The  Seductive  Influence  of  the  Free  Pass      .       .     38 

CHAPTER  VII. 
Passes  and  Perjury 44 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
The  Lobbyists  Organize  the  Legislature       .       .     53 

CHAPTER  IX. 
Pass  Bribery  Leads  to  Graft 64 

CHAPTER  X. 
The  Free  Pass  System  Leads  to  Double  Dealing 

in   Politics 75 

CHAPTER  XI. 

State     Institutions     in     Grip     of     Pass     Bribery 
System gl 


Contents. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

The  Free  Pass  System  is  a  Conspiracy       .        .     88 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
Big   Corporations   Hover   Over   and    Protect   the 

Little  Corporations 95 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
The    Betrayal    of    the    People    by    Pass-Holding 

Officials 100 

CHAPTER  XV. 
The  Nebraska  Legislature  and  the  President     .  106 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
No  Rope  for  Railroad  Regulation  From  the  Na- 
tional Congress  Until  The  Free  Pass  System 
is  Destroyed  in  the   States       ....   Ill 

CHAPTER  XVII. 
High  Local  Freight  Rates  and  the  "Long  Haul"  116 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 
Serving  Two   Masters 121 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
Government  is  a  Matter  of  Politics       .       .       .  133 

CHAPTER  XX. 
Reply  to   a  Railroad   Lobbyist       ....  143 

CHAPTER  XXI. 
Speech  Before  Committee  on  Railroads  on  Anti- 


Pass  Bill 

CHAPTER  XXII. 
Opening  Speech  of  1904  Campaign 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 
The  Government  of  Our  Cities 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 
Editorials   From    The   Independent 


.  153 

.  185 

.  219 

.  23? 


Biographical  Sketch 30' 


The   Free   Pass  Bribery   System 

INTRODUCTION. 

The  people  of  Nebraska  and  of  the  whole 
country  are  just  now  studying  the  railroad  ques- 
tion. They  are  more  interested  in  this  subject 
than  they  have  ever  been  before,  and  for  ob- 
vious reasons.  It  is  dawning  upon  the  public 
that  both  in  politics  and  business  the  railroads 
are  the  real  masters  of  destiny:  Instead  of 
business  enterprise  succeeding  or  failing  upon 
its  merits,  it  succeeds  or  fails  according  to  rail- 
road will.  Instead  of  honest  and  independent 
men  being  placed  in  positions  of  trust  they  are 
pulled  down  and  the  weak  and  pliant  tools  are 
placed  in  control  of  public  affairs.  Instead 
of  public  officials  compelling  railroads  to  obey 
the  law,  the  railroads  compel  the  public  officials 
to  serve  them  and  betray  the  people.  Instead 
of  the  railroads  serving  all  the  people  justly 
and  without  discrimination  and  at  reasonable 
rates,  the  railroads  levy  tribute  upon  the  honest 
citizenship  of  the  country,  while  at  the  same 
tine  they  shield   and  prefer   and  favor  thoso 


viii        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

who  betray  the  people  and  serve  them.  In 
other  words,  honest  men,  fair  dealing  and  rep- 
resentative government  are  all  pulled  down  and 
a  railroad  oligarchy  controls  the  government. 

Up  to  this  time  the  people  have  not  fully 
understood  this.  They  have  seen  this  whole 
railroad  question  "as  through  a  glass  darkly." 
They  are  coming,  however,  to  understand  the 
question  more  fully.  In  recent  years  the  rail- 
roads have  so  ruthlessly  trampled  under  foot 
the  rights  of  the  people  and  so  spurned  with 
contempt  their  wishes,  that  everywhere  the 
people  are  beginning  to  ask  whether  the  railroads 
are  subject  to  the  law,  or  whether  they  are  out- 
side and  above  the  law.  They  are  inquiring 
whether  railroad  influence  is  stronger  than  the 
government,  or  whether  the  government  is 
stronger  than  the  railroads.  They  are  vigor- 
ously taking  hold  of  this  question,  and  the  indi- 
cations are  that  the  honest  inquiring  mind  of 
the  public  will  find  out  just  where  the  trouble 
is,  and  when  they  have  found  this  out  there  is 
no  question  but  what  they  will  find  a  remedy. 

The  people  have  approached  this  question 
one  step  nearer  than  ever  before.  They  see  that 
the  real  trouble  is  not  so  much  with  the  law  as 
with  the  official.   They  see  that  the  official,  after 


Introduction.  ix 


he  is  elected,  serves  the  railroads  and  not  the 
people  who  elect  him. 

They  see  that  no  matter  what  the  law  is,  it 
ultimately  depends  upon  the  official  for  its  en- 
forcement. It  has  dawned  upon  the  public  that 
many  officials  elected,  in  city,  county  and  state 
governments,  and  even  in  the  national  govern- 
ment, become  in  fact,  after  they  are  elected, 
representatives  of  the  corporations.  The  peo- 
ple, therefore,  everywhere  are  inquiring  why  this 
is;  and  by  what  influence  or  through  what  instru- 
mentality the  railroads  procure  this  power  over 
the  official. 

As  candidate  for  governor  of  Nebraska  in 
1904,  I  said  that  the  railroads  procured  this 
control  through  The  Free  Pass  System.  I  said 
that  The  Free  Pass  System  was  a  bribery  sys- 
tem ;  that  it  stood  between  the  people  and  their 
government,  and  that  before  we  could  regulate 
railroads,  and  again  have  representative  gov- 
ernment, The  Free  Pass  System  must  be  de- 
stroyed. I  said  that  many  officials  were  inno- 
cently caught  in  this  slimy  net,  but  that  most 
candidates  for  office  and  public  officials  deliber- 
ately entered  into  a  conspiracy  with  the  rail- 
roads to  defeat  the  people's  will.  I  further 
said  that  with  few  exceptions  all  pass  holding 


ic  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

officials  "were  loyal  servants  of  the  railroads,  and 
that  as  a  rule  the  people  could  not  trust  them. 

I  am  more  convinced  now  than  ever  before 
that  what  I  then  said  is  absolutely  true.  While 
The  Free  Pass  System  is  only  an  evil  incident 
to  the  railroad  question,  yet  I  maintain  that  we 
cannot  regulate  railroads,  nor  make  much  head- 
way in  government  ownership,  until  The  Free 
Pass  System  is  striken  down.  It  bribes  the  offi- 
cials; it  bribes  private  citizens  holding  the 
passes.  I  have  nothing  to  do,  however,  with  in- 
dividuals. I  speak  of  them  only  in  this  volume 
a.?  I  am  obliged  to  in  order  to  show  the  operation 
of  this  vicious  bribery  system.  It  is  The  Free 
Pass  Bribery  System  that  I  condemn  and  which 
I  insist  is  the  instrumentality  used  by  the  rail- 
roads to  procure  control  over  the  officials  elected 
by  the  people  and  consequently  control  over 
the  government. 

The  Free  Pass  System  is  wrong  and  inde- 
fensible for  two  reasons.  In  the  first  place 
it  is  a  bribery  system.  It  bribes  public  offi- 
cials ;  it  also  bribes  private  citizens.  As  a  sys- 
tem it  is  a  colossal  bribe.  Through  the  officials 
it  bribes  whole  cities,  counties  and  states.  Money 
bribery  in  St.  Louis  is  insignficant  compared  to 
free  pass  bribery  in  Nebraska.     I  maintain  that 


Introduction.  xi 


the  power  for  evil  of  The  Free  Pass  Bribery 
System  is  far  greater  than  bribery  with  money. 
Few  men  can  be  bribed  with  money,  but  many 
men  can  be  bribed  with  a  free  railroad  pass.  Its 
influence  is  so  insidious  that  it  is  at  first  not 
understood  by  those  who  receive  the  passes. 
Therefore  the  free  pass  is  much  more  dangerous 
and  deadly  in  its  work  of  bribery  than  money 
in  the  hands  of  the  corporations. 

The  Free  Pass  System  is  wrong  in  the  second 
place  because  it  unjustly  discriminates.  Those 
who  condemn  freight  discrimination  certainly 
cannot  defend  passenger  discrimination.  I  in- 
sist that  passenger  discrimination  is  even  a 
greater  evil  and  works  greater  hardships  than 
freight  discrimination.  Think  of  the  woman 
with  her  children,  who  has  paid  for  her  ride 
on  the  train,  but  who  is  too  poor  to  buy  a  berth 
in  the  Pullman,  sitting  up  all  night  in  the  car 
just  back  of  the  smoker,  while  back  in  the  Pull- 
man berths  you  find  many  who  live  in  marble 
palaces,  sleeping  soundly  all  night,  who  neither 
paid  to  ride  on  the  train  nor  to  sleep  in  the 
berths.  This  is  only  a  sample  of  the  discrimin- 
ation practiced  many  thousand  times  each  day 
in  this  country.  No  one  will  defend  it.  Such 
injustice  should  stir  to  action  every  true  Ameri- 


xii         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

can  citizen.  Xo  man  does  his  full  duty  as  a 
citizen  who  does  not  contribute  his  influence  to 
help  eliminate  such  an  evil. 

I  am  willing  to  concede  that  the  railroad 
question  will  not  be  entirely  solved  as  long  as 
railroads  are  owned  and  controlled  by  private 
individuals.  Government  ownership  is  the  only 
real  solution  of  this  great  question.  My  posi- 
tion, however,  is  that  government  ownership  is 
yet  quite  far  away,  and  that  until  we  can  have 
government  ownership,  the  people  must  regu- 
late and  control  the  railways.  It  would  not  be 
right  for  us  to  say  that  we  believe  in  govern- 
ment ownership,  and  then  fold  our  arms  and  let 
the  railroads  rob  and  plunder  the  people  and 
bribe  their  public  servants.  I  believe  the  rail- 
roads can  be  regulated  with  honest  officials.  This 
does  not  mean  that  any  injustice  will  be  done 
the  railroads,  but  it  does  mean  that  the  people 
will  be  justly  treated  by  the  railroads. 

Since  my  campaign  last  fall,  at  odd  hours 
and  many  times  late  in  the  night,  I  have  writ- 
ten this  little  volume.  It  has  been  hastily  pre- 
pared, and  I  make  no  pretense  of  discussing  the 
subject  fully  or  adding  anything  in  a  perma- 
nent way  to  the  literature  of  the  day.  My  only 
reason  for  writing  this  book  is  a  desire  to  help 


Introduction.  xiii 


improve  conditions  and  do  my  part  in  making 
this  government  better  and  stronger  for  the  peo- 
ple. I  hope  it  will  be  of  current  interest,  and 
that  what  I  have  said  will  help  to  awaken  the 
people  upon  this  vital  and  all  important  ques- 
tion. In  its  preparation  I  have  received  much 
valuable  help  from  others  who  are  vitally  in- 
terested in  this  question  for  which  I  desire  to 
make  due  acknowledgments. 

I  have  also  added  a  paper  I  read  on  the 
pass  question  at  a  club  meeting  when  a  rail- 
road lobbyist  tried  to  defend  the  pass  question ; 
also  a  speech  I  made  before  the  railroad  com- 
mittee on  an  anti-pass  bill  I  had  drawn.  This 
speech  covers  the  question  quite  fully  and  I 
think  it  will  be  of  interest.  Also  extracts 
from  my  opening  speech  of  the  1904  campaign 
are  given.  This  speech  was  quoted  quite  ex- 
tensively and  aroused  the  people  to  the  real 
dangers  of  this  bribery  system.  Also  I  give 
some  editorials  from  The  Independent  of  which 
I  am  editor  and  publisher.  These  will  all 
bo  found  interesting  to  those  wishing  to  be- 
come posted  upon  this  important  question. 

I  shall  feel  amply  repaid  for  my  efforts,  if 
what  is  contained  herein  will  help  to   arouse 


xiv        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

the  people  so  that  in  the  very  near  future  such 
legislation  will  be  passed  as  will  forever  sound 
the  death  knell  to  this  bribery  system. 

GEOEGE  W.  BERGE. 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


CHAPTER  I. 


THE  FREE  PASS  HOLDERS  A  POLICING  SQUAD 
FOR  THE  RAILROADS. 

Corporation  mastery  over  the  politics  and 
government  of  Nebraska  people  commenced  with 
the  beginning  of  railroad  construction  on  Ne- 
braska soil.  From  the  laying  of  the  first  tie, 
and  the  spiking  down  of  the  first  iron  rail,  ex- 
tortion in  business  and  control  of  the  state  gov- 
ernment were  inseparably  linked  together  in  the 
railroad  plans.  The  railroad  builders  foresaw 
from  the  beginning  that  extortionate  freight 
rates  would  be  resisted  by  the  people.  They 
foresaw  that  this  resistance,  after  it  had  passed 
through  the  first  stage,  that  of  protest  and  agita- 
tion, would  ultimately  resolve  itself  into  a  trial 
pf  political  strength  between  the  railroads  and 
the  people  for  the  control  of  the  state  govern- 


2  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

ment.  In  this  struggle  for  the  control  of  the 
state  government  the  people  had  the  advantage 
in  position  because  they  had  the  legal  right  to 
govern  under  the  constitution.  The  people  un- 
der the  constitution  had  the  right  through  their 
legislative  representatives  to  regulate  transpor- 
tation rates  by  law.  To  prevent  the  enactment 
of  such  law  must  be  the  steady  purpose  of  the 
corporations,  and  to  this  end  they  must  control 
the  law-makers. 

Not  only  must  the  railroads  procure  and 
maintain  control  over  the  lawmaking  body,  but 
they  must  have  control  over  the  courts  and  the 
executive  officials  of  the  state;  for  a  part  of 
the  law  is  its  interpretation  by  the  courts  and  its 
enforcement  or  non-enforcement  by  the  executive 
authorities.  In  short,  corporation  influence 
must  dominate  the  whole  state  government.  It 
must  dethrone  the  constitution,  pull  down  rep- 
resentative government,  and  set  up  and  maintain 
government  by  railroads. 

'Every  corporation  that  wants  to  plunder  the 
public  by  extortion  must  get  its  influence  into 
the  various  official  departments.  And  it  must 
do  this  in  a  manner  so  adroit  that  the  public 
will  not  fully  understand  its  purpose  or  the 
means  by  which  it  secured  this  advantage.     Cor- 


TJie  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  3 

porations,  when  they  want  power  in  govern- 
ment, secure  it  by  securing  the  man.  The  gov- 
ernment is  the  man.  The  policeman  on  hie 
beat,  the  mayor  in  the  city  hall,  the  legislative 
member  in  his  seat  at  the  state  house,  the  gov- 
ernor in  the  executive  office,  the  attorney  gen- 
eral in  the  law  department,  the  judge  on  the 
bench, — what  these  men  do  as  officials  is  the 
government.  Whatever  will  force  controls  the 
action  of  these  men,  is  the  power  that  governs. 
The  drum-beating  of  party  politics,  under  gov- 
ernment by  corporations,  is  only  a  trick  for  the 
entertainment  of  the  people  in  public,  while  the 
corporation  wires  are  pulled  in  private  behind 
the  scenes. 

Men  get  into  office  through  the  machinery 
of  politics.  The  railroad  builders  in  the  early 
days  perceived  that  to  have  influence  with  the 
office-holders,  they,  too,  must  get  into  politics. 
They  must  control  not  only  the  men  who  hold 
the  offices,  but  the  public  sentiment  of  the  peo- 
ple and  the  working  machinery  of  the  party 
organizations. 

Politics  in  the  early  days  was  just  what  it 
is  nenv  and  always  will  be,  the  only  court  where 
the  common  citizen  can  stand  up  for  himself 
and  make  Lid  own  plea, — the  only  battle  ground 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


where  lie  can  fight.  Whoever  wins  in  politics 
wins  the  whole  fight.  The  corporations  must 
meet  and  defeat  the  people  in  politics,  or  the 
battle  to  them  would  be  lost  forever.  The  peo- 
ple are  in  the  majority.  If  they  center  their 
purposes  and  stand  together  for  any  definite 
principle  of  justice,  their  power  is  invincible. 
In  order  to  distract  the  attention,  confuse  the 
judgment,  and  divide  the  purposes  of  the  peo- 
ple, corporation  influence  must  get  itself  in 
among  the  people.  It  must  have  political  agents 
out  pjuong  the  people  in  every  part  of  the  state, 
who  will  represent  its  interests  in  the  control  of 
public  sentiment,  and  in  the  manipulation  of 
local  p  litics.  These  agents  must  be  men  of  influ- 
ence. They  must  be  competent  to  get  results. 
They  must  be  experienced  and  skilled  in  the 
political  game.  They  must  know  how  to  strike 
attitudes  and  to  pose  before  the  public  in  such  a 
manner  that  their  real  purposes  are  not  dis- 
covered. They  must  be  betrayers  of  the  people. 
They  must  not  only  bo  tray  each  man  in  his 
home  community,  but  they  must  submit  to  dis* 
cipline  and  be  organize;!  into  a  systematic  be- 
trayal of  the  whole  public  under  some  central 
control. 

All  this  the  railroads  understood  from  the 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


beginning,  and  they  realized  that  it  meant  a 
state-wide  conspiracy.  It  meant  a  conspiracy 
that  would  get  corporate  power  in  between  the 
people  and  the  constitution.  It  meant  a  con- 
spiracy that  would  reduce  representative  gov- 
ernment to  an  empty  form. 

It  meant  much  in  money.  It  meant  an  ex- 
tortion on  every  car  of  food  product  that  would 
be  shipped  out  of  the  state.  It  meant  extortion 
oi!  every  car  of  coal,  building  material  and  mer- 
chandise that  would  be  shipped  into  the  state. 
It  meant  extortion  on  every  carload  of  apples 
that  the  farmers  of  Richardson  county  wanted 
fee  sell  to  the  farmers  of  Custer  county.  It 
meant  extortion  on  every  carload  of  hay  which 
the  hay-producers  of  the  Republican  and  Elk- 
horn  Valleys  wanted  to  sell  in  the  markets  of 
Lincoln  and  Omaha.  It  meant  the  cold  blooded 
robbery  of  every  poor  man  who  wanted  to  move 
his  household  goods  from  one  part  of  the  state 
to  another.  It  meant  the  levying  of  unlawful 
tribute  on  every  era  to,  box,  bundle  or  parcel 
shipped  from  the  wholesale  merchants  of  Lin- 
coln and  Omaha  to  the  retail  merchants  of  the 
towns  and  villages.  It  meant,  in  the  aggregate, 
the  systematic  plundering  of  the  whole  people  of 
millions  of  dollars  annually;    and  it  meant  that 


6  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


these  political  agents  were  bound  to  hold  their 
hands  over  the  eyes  of  governors,  judges,  legis- 
lators, congressmen,  and  United  States  senators, 
and  over  the  mouths  of  the  plundered  people, 
so  that  there  would  be  no  official  action  and  no 
outspoken  public  sentiment  to  interfere. 

To  get  men  into  such  a  conspiracy  meant 
that  there  must  be  some  consideration.  This 
consideration  must  be  of  a  character  so  subtle 
that  the  element  of  bribery  in  it  would  not  be 
fully  understood  by  the  public  or  even  by  the 
conspirators  themselves. 

"We  can  bribe  these  Nebraska  politicians 
with  a  free  pass  system,"  said  the  railroad  man- 
agers to  each  other.  "They  will  not  understand 
at  the  first  the  full  meaning  of  our  plans,  and 
when  they  finally  do,  they  will  be  so  corrupt, 
and  the  whole  political  system  so  completely  en- 
snared, that  resistance  will  be  impossible." 

"While  the  railroad  workmen  were  complet- 
ing the  first  track  between  Omaha  and  Grand 
Island,  and  between  Plattsmouth  and  Lincoln, 
the  free  pass  agent  with  his  insidious  bribe,  was 
procuring,  from  some  official  at  the  state  house 
or  at  some  county  seat,  some  small  detail  of  con- 
cession in  the  interest  of  the  railroads  and 
against  the  interest  of  the  public. 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


As  fast  as  the  railroad  lines  moved  up  the 
western  slope  across  the  state,  The  Free  Pass 
System  spread  out  and  grew  among  the  people. 
Wherever  there  were  special  privileges  to  be 
secured  from  the  towns  and  villages,  the  free 
pass  distributor  was  there  with  his  bribe.  Wher- 
ever the  train  men  were  unloading  freight,  there 
was  the  iron  hand  of  extortion,  and  there  was 
the  free  pass  conspirator  hovering  over  and 
guarding  the  extortion,  with  his  hand  over  the 
mouth  of  every  shipper,  lest  there  be  complaint 
that  would  check  railroad  building  and  hinder 
the  business  progress  of  the  town.  Looking 
back  now  to  those  early  times,  Nebraska  people 
can  remember  how  zealously  these  free  pass- 
holders  guarded  them,  as  they  have  been  guard- 
ing all  these  years  the  "Business  Interests." 

The  difference  between  reasonable  and  ex- 
tortionate freight  rates  meant  millions  annually 
to  the  Nebraska  railroads.  Railroad  control 
meant  millions  made  through  extortion  an;] 
thousands  saved  through  tax-shirking  and  all 
this  under  the  protection  of  the  free  pass  watch- 
dogs, these  zealous  guardians  of  the  ''Business 
Interests."      ^ 

Now  my  contention  is,  and  I  want  to  make 
it  the  central  thought  in  this  discussion,  that 


8  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


The  Free  Pass  System  was  inaugurated  ir 
tills  state  by  the  transportation  companies,  and 
planned  by  them  from  the  very  beginning,  as 
a  system  of  bribery,  which  would  cost  the  rail- 
roads nothing,  and  by  means  of  which  the_y 
could  procure  representatives  among  the  people 
who  would  mould  public  sentiment,  dominate 
politics,  control  legislation  and  the  state  govern- 
ment, and  thus  enable  the  railroads,  untram- 
ineled  by  law,  to  maintain  an  extortionate 
freight  rate  system  and  to  avoid  just  taxation 
of  their  property. 

This  plan  of  the  Nebraska  railroad  corpora- 
tions to  organize  the  politicians  around  The 
Free  Pass  System,  to  use  the  pass  holders  as 
a  policing  squad  for  the  protection  of  extor- 
tionate freight  rates  and  low  taxation  on  rail- 
road property,  this  original  plan  adopted  by 
the  railroads  at  the  very  beginning,  has  been 
carried  out  through  all  these  years  up  to  the 
present  hour.  , 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


CHAPTEE  II. 

THE  MOST  POWERFUL  WEAPON  OF  THIS 
POLICING  SQUAD  IS  THE  FREE  PASS 
BRIBERY  SYSTEM, 

For  thirty  years  the  polities  of  Nebraska 
has  been  policed  and  the  government  of  the  state 
controlled  by  railroads.  This  railroad  control 
of  politics  and  state  government  is  procured 
through  a  conspiracy.  The  conspiracy  is  be- 
tween the  railroad  managers  and  the  politi- 
cians. The  purpose  of  the  conspiracy  is  to  pro- 
cure for  the  railroads,  through  the  politicians, 
control  over  the  state  government.  The  price 
paid  to  the  politicians  for  their  part  in  the  con- 
spiracy is  the  free  pass.  The  systematic  dis- 
tribution of  free  passes  among  the  politicians, 
I  call  a  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  I  mean 
by  that  that  it  bribes.  It  bribes  the  politicians 
to  put  up  men  for  office  who  are  under  obliga- 
tions to  serve  the  railroads  and  betray  the  peo- 
ple.! The  Free  Pass  System  bribes  the  official 
to  do  something  which  he  ought  not  to  do,  or 


10  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

to  refrain  from  doing  something  that  he  ought 
to  do,  and  would  do  if  it  were  not  for  the  free 
pass  bribe. 

If  it  were  not  for  The  Free  Pass  System  and 
for  the  obligations  which  the  members  of  the 
last  legislature  were  under  to  that  system,  for 
their  nomination  and  election,  that  legislature 
would  have  enacted  at  the  recent  session  a 
rate  reduction  law.  If  it  were  not  for  the  passes 
which  the  county  bosses  have,  the  servile  men 
who  made  up  the  membership  of  that  body 
would  never  have  been  nominated  or  elected  in 
the  first  place. 

If  there  had  been  no  free  pass  machine  in 
this  state,  Charles  H.  Dietrich  would  never 
have  been  brought  out  and  put  forward  on  his 
disgraceful  political  career.  He  would  never 
have  dared  to  aspire  to  the  governorship  without 
the  free  pass  machine  and  General  Manager 
Holdrege,  of  the  Burlington  railroad,  behind  it 
to  dictate  its  control  over  the  republican  state 
convention.  Following  his  nomination  and  elec- 
tion to  the  governorship,  Dietrich  never  would 
have  been  elected  to  the  United  States  senate 
without  the  bayonets  of  the  free  pass  organiza- 
tion behind  the  legislature  to  force  a  thing  that 
was  offensive  to  the  entire  legislate  j  body. 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  11 


Without  the  brutal  power  of  the  free"  pass 
over  the  republican  members,  the  legislature  of 
four  years  ago  never  could  have  been  brought, 
and  held  to  the  very  last  day  of  the  session, 
around  the  senatorial  candidacy  of  D.  E. 
Thompson,  against  whose  election  the  republi- 
can press  and  the  republican  voters  of  the  state 
made  a  practically  unanimous  protest.  In  that 
memorable  contest  the  party-proud  republicans 
of  the  state  saw  their  party  organization  used 
as  a  policing  squad,  rounding  up  the  legislative 
members  and  dragooning  them  into  that  which 
was  hateful  to  them  and  to  their  constituency. 
Business  men  were  coerced  into  written  en- 
dorsements and  petitions,  under  the  fear  that 
their  business  would  be  discriminated  against 
by  the  railroads,  if  they  refused.  Hundreds 
of  respectable  business  men,  free  pass  holders 
from  all  over  the  state,  were  dragged  from  their 
homes,  brought  to  the  state  capitol  and  there, 
putting  their  own  respectable  personalities  into 
the  scale,  debasing  themselves  to  the  lowest  de- 
gree, they  helped  to  coerce  the  legislative  mem- 
bers with  threats,  wheedled  them  with  lies,  and 
deceived  -them  with  forced  petitions,  literally 
compelling  them  by  force  to  sacrifice  the  time 
of  the  entire  session   in   a   desperate   effort   to 


12         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

elect  to  the  highest  office  in  the  gift  of  the  state 
a  man  wanted  by  no  one  except  the  manager 
of  the  Burlington  railroad. 

Railroad  managers,  when  they  have  some- 
thing to  do  that  is  of  interest  to  their  corpora- 
tions, something  in  which  they  must  use  the  poli- 
tical and  governmental  machinery  of  the  state, 
are  utterly  cold-blooded,  having  no  regard  for  t-Sfes 
higher  sentiment  of  the  individual  will  of  the 
citizen.  They  use  him  to  the  very  utmost  of 
the  power  that  they  have  over  him,  regardless 
of  the  effect  upon  his  higher  feelings  or  upon 
his  reputation  with  his  neighbors  and  his  politi- 
cal associates.  In  government  by  railroads,  citi- 
zenship is  dethroned.  The  higher  ideals  of  men 
are  crushed  and  trampled  under  foot  as  ruth- 
lessly as  the  marble  statues  of  Rome  were  de- 
stroyed by  the  invading  Vandals.  The  better 
men  of  the  republican  party  pleaded  vvith  Mr. 
Iloldrege  not  to  desecrate  the  party  and  hu- 
miliate its  voters  by  the  promotion  of  such  men 
a?  Dietrich  and  Thompson.  But  Mr.  Holdrege, 
whatever  his  better  manhood  might  have 
prompted,  was  himself,  as  every  railroad  mana- 
ger is,  a  mere  instrument  in  the  great  railroad 
and  trust  machine  of  Wall  Street;  and  it  was 
not  for  him  to  hesitate  or  to  have  respect  for 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  IS 

the  party  pride  of  Nebraska  republicans.  He 
bad  procured,  uuder  the  direction  of  the  Wall 
Street  management,  control  of  the  party  in  Ne- 
braska, and  it  was  his  business,  when  ordered 
to  do  so,  to  use  this  power  whenever  it  was  nec- 
essary to  get  results.  The  railroads  had  bar- 
gained with  the  free  pass  holders,  had  paid  the 
price  in  advance,  and  they  reasoned  that  they 
had  a  right  to  use  these  pass  holders,  and  it  was 
not  for  the  pass  holders,  who  had  been  retained 
and  had  engaged  themselves  in  the  political  ser- 
vice of  the  railroad  corporations,  to  have  party 
sentiment  or  to  reason  why. 

I  cite  these  notable  instances,  not  for  the 
purpose  of  making  a  fling  at  ex-Governor  and 
ex-United  States  Senator  Dietrich,  who  has  al- 
ready been  severely  punished  by  the  unfortunate 
outcome  of  his  political  career,  nor  at  Mr. 
Thompson,  who  has  been  endorsed  and  pro- 
moted by  the  national  administration,  but  to 
show  how  relentlessly  railroad  corporations  use 
parties  and  men  when  they  have  a  machine  which 
they  own,  and  which  they  consider  that  they 
have  a  right  to  use  because  they  fe-ave  paid  the 
price. 

A  railroad  manager,  whenever  necessity  re- 
quires, does  not  hesitate  to  use  the  free  pass 


lJf         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

holders  as  if  they  were  hired  men.  And  from 
the  railroad  point  of  view,  the  pass  holders  have 
no  complaint  if  they  are  sometimes  over  used 
or  misused.  I  have  no  sympathy  with  the 
mouthing  pretender  who  chafes  under  railroad 
dictation  while  carrying  in  his  own  pocket  the 
evidence  of  his  own  bargain  and  sale.  If  the 
service  is  galling  to  him,  let  him,  like  an  inde- 
pendent man,  refuse  to  serve,  and  let  him  re- 
fuse the  free  ride  like  an  honest  man. 

There  is  coming  among  Nebraska  people  a 
strong  conviction  that  this  free  pass  business  is 
wrong.  There  is  a  growing  tendency  among  the 
voters,  not  only  in  this  state  but  all  over  the 
western  country,  to  line  up  public  men  on  one 
side  or  the  other.  The  President  has  done 
much  to  line  up  Congress  against  freight  dis- 
crimination, but  the  matter  of  putting  the  free 
pass  machines  out  of  business  is  a  duty  that 
each  state  must  perform  itself.  The  voters  of 
Nebraska  must  clean  their  own  house  If  the 
railroads  have  bargained  with  the  present  state 
government,  and  if  the  evidence  of  this  bargain 
is  in  the  pockets  of  the  state  officials,  it  is  the 
duty  of  Nebraska  voters  to  smoke  these  officials 
out,  and  to  compel  them  by  the  force  of  an 
aroused  public  sentiment  to  take  an  open  stand 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  15 


in  defense  of  the  corporations  and  the  passes 
that  are  in  their  pockets,  or  else  to  throw  away 
the  passes,  declare  their  allegiance  to  the  people 
and  join  in  a  general  crusade  against  The  Free 
Pass  System  and  a  gainst  Boss  Rule  by  railroad 
managers. 


16         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  FREE  PASS  MACHINE  IS   PLACED  IN  THE 
HANDS  OP  CAPABLE  MANAGERS. 

It  is  a  part  of  the  business  of  the  railroad 
managers,  in  their  work  of  controlling  govern- 
ment in  Nebraska,  to  control  legislation.  It 
would  be  a  serious  matter  with  these  Nebraska 
railroad  managers  if  they  should  permit  the 
nomination  and  election  of  legislative  members 
over  whom  they  had  no  control,  even  for  one 
legislative  term.  A  single  session  of  the  law- 
making body  composed  of  intelligent  and  un- 
trammeled  men  could  and  probably  would  not 
only  legislate  the  railroads  out  of  political  con- 
trol, but  strip  them  of  several  millions  annually 
of  the  ill-gotten  profits  which  they  derive  from 
Nebraska  business. 

In  their  work  of  policing  the  politics  of  the 
state,  and  holding  on  from  year  to  year  to  their 
control  over  the  state  government,  these  rail- 
road managers  are  in  dead  earnest.  To  dictate 
the  politics  and  government  of  a  million  of  in- 


JOHN  N.  BALDWIN 
General    Attorney   Union    Pa- 
cific  Railway    Co., 
Omaha. 


BENJ.   T.   WHITE 

Gen'l  Attorney  Neb.   &  Wyo. 

Div.  C.  &  N.  W.  Ry., 

Omaha. 


GEORGE   W.   HOLDREDGE 

General    Manager   Burlington   Route, 

Omaha. 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  11 

dependent  people  is  a  pretty  strenuous  business. 
It  means  that  the  railroads  must  employ  men 
for  that  particular  purpose.  It  is  just  as  im- 
portant for  them  to  have  competent  political 
mnmigers  as  it  is  for  them  to  have  competent 
attorneys,  engineers,  and  superintendents.  And 
so  it  is  that  the  railroads,  not  only  of  Nebraska, 
but  of  every  state,  are  constantly  on  the  lookout 
for  men  peculiarly  adapted  by  experience  and 
Lus1  met  to  organize  and  work  out  their  kind  of 
politics. 

"When  General  Chas.  F.  Manderson  retired 
from  a  twelve  years'  experience  as  United  States 
senator,  equipped  with  an  extensive  acquaint- 
ance among  the  public  men,  the  statesmen,  poli- 
ticians, and  officials  of  the  whole  nation,  he  was 
iust  such  a  man  as  the  Burlington  railroad 
needed  to  superintend  its  particular  part  in  the 
national  government  at  Washington.  Every 
great  railroad  in  the  country  has  its  General 
.Manderson,  with  his  wide  acquaintance,  with  his 
dignified  and  interesting  and  persuasive  per- 
sonality, with  his  capability  to  handle  important 
matters  and  get  results.  It  is  never  given  out, 
ivhen  these  men  carry  the  force  of  their'  reputa- 
tion as  statesmen  and  party  leaders  into  the 
employ  of  the  railroads,  that  their  service  to  the 


18         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


corporation  is  to  be  largely  political.  Their 
position  with  the  corporation  is  designated  as 
General  Attorney  or  General  Solicitor,  and  the 
public  is  made  to  understand  that  they  are  em- 
ployed in  the  legal  department  for  their  legal 
ability.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  they  are 
employed  for  their  political  ability  and  their 
political  influence  among  the  political  leaders 
of  the  country.  By  this  means  every  great  rail- 
road corporation  has  a  connecting  link  between 
itself  and  the  national  government. 

The  same  system  is  employed  by  the  railroad 
managers  in  each  state  in  maintaining  a  close 
connection  bohvoen  their  partieula.  railroad  and 
the  state  politics  of  their  particular  state.  I  do 
not  mean  that  the  local  managers  are  able  to 
secure  such  men  as  General  Manderson  to  su- 
perintend the  detail  of  their  part  in  state  poli- 
tics. General  Manderson  is  a  high-grade  man, 
who,  notwithstanding  his  employment  by  a 
soulless  corporation,  is  bound  to  act  along  lines 
of  conduct  that  are  dignified  and  fairly  honor- 
able, as  that  word  is  applied  to  politics  in  gen- 
eral. But  in  a  state  like  Nebraska,  each  railroad 
corporation  has  its  part  of  the  political  manage- 
ment of  the  state  entrusted  to  some  particular 
head    official,  some    man    who    more    than  the 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  19 


others,  has  an  acquaintance,  a  temperament,  and 
a  natural  skill  adapted  to  handling  men  and 
measures. 

For  example,  the  politics  of  the  Burlington 
road,  so  far  as  the  state  of  ISTebraska  is  con- 
cerned, is  under  the  control  of  General  Manager 
George  W.  Holdregc.  Mr.  Holdrege  is  one  of 
the  most  successful  political  managers  in  the 
entire  country.  The  Elkhorn  railroad  entrusts 
its  part  of  the  politics  and  government  of  the 
state  to  Mr.  Ben.  White.  Mr.  White  is  the 
attorney  for  the  Elkhorn  railroad,  and  al- 
though yet  a  young  man,  is  a  shrewd  politician, 
who,  under  the  jjresent  ..system  of  railroad  con- 
trol of  state  government,  will  ultimately  develop 
into  a  powerful  political  boss.  Attorney  White, 
like  General  Manager  Holdrege,  has  in  his  per- 
sonal make-up  the  elements  that  make  him  per- 
sonally popular  with  politicians,  while  this  per- 
sonal popularity  is  all  the  time  re-enforced  with 
a  controlling  faculty  that  enables  him  to  have 
his  way.  The  Union  Pacific  railroad,  in  con- 
tributing its  pro  rata  share  to  the  government 
of  Nebraska  people,  furnishes  John  N".  Baldwin, 
of  Council  Bluffs,  Iowa.  While  Mr.  Baldwin's 
residence  is  in  Council  Bluffs,  his  place  of  busi- 
ness, as  one  of  the  political  bosses  of  Nebraska 


20  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

government,  is  at  the  Union  Pacific  headquarters 
in  Omaha.  Mr.  Baldwin,  in  addition  to  a  valu- 
able political  experience  which  he  obtained 
through  several  years  of  successful  political  ma- 
nipulation in  Iowa  state  politics,  and  in  addi- 
tion to  his  strong  and  popular  personality,  is 
■ctill  further  equipped  with  a  silver  tongue, 
^hich  has  made  his  political  oratory  more  or 
less  famous  all  the  way  from  Council  Bluffs  to 
Boston.  Every  board  of  railroad  directors  con- 
siders it  desirable  to  employ  men  who  can  take 
part  as  orators  and  by  their  party  zeal  disguise 
the  real  purpose  for  which  they  are  employed  by 
the  board  of  directors.  These  men  are  paid 
'high  salaries  and  devote  their  entire  time  to 
protect  the  interests  of  their  respective  roads. 
And  while  the  interests  of  the  railroads  are  so 
ably  looked  after  and  guarded  let  rne  ask  who 
cares  for  the  people's  interests  ?  The  public 
officials  who  are  entrusted  with  this  sacred  duty 
by  the  people  are  bribed  into  silence  by  ihe  free 
pass,  and  thereby  the  people  are  betrayed  and 
sold  out.  The  people,  as  well  as  the  railroads, 
need  able  defenders. 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  21 


CHAPTEE  IV. 

PROFESSIONAL       PASS       DISTRIBUTORS       AND 

PASS     SUPERINTENDENTS. 

While  the  railroads  find  it  profitable  to 
employ  such  high-priced  men  as  Holdrege, 
White  and  Baldwin  to  act  as  managers  and  heads 
of  the  railroad  government  in  the  state,  they  are 
compelled  to  employ  a  lower  grade  and  alto- 
gether different  type  of  men  to  act  as  pass  dis- 
tributors and  professional  lobbyists.  While 
these  three  men  whom  I  have  designated  as  rep- 
resenting respectively  the  Burlington,  the  Elk- 
horn  and  the  Union  Pacific  railroads,  constitute 
the  head  council  or  the  managing  board  of  po- 
litical directors  and  are  in  general  control  of 
the  free  pass  bribing  machine,  the  detail  work 
of  the  machine  is  carried  on  by  traveling  pass 
distributors,  whose  business  it  is  to  keep  a  de- 
tective's eye  on  every  member  of  the  free  pass 
organization,  and  to  keep  the  supply  of  free 
passes  m  constant  circulation  where  they  will 
do  the  most  good. 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


Each  railroad  in  the  state  has  its  own  par- 
ticular list  of  free  pass  holders,  and  its  own 
particular  free  pass  organization,  but  all  of 
these  organizations  are  kept  in  working  harmony 
with  each  other,  moving  all  the  time  toward  one 
central  purpose,  under  the  control  of  their  mana- 
gers at  Omaha.  Each  railroad  employs  its  own 
traveling  pass  superintendent.  It  is  the  busi- 
ness of  this  traveling  pass  superintendent  to 
herd  the  pass  holders  in  politics  and  guard  their 
political  tendencies,  as  a  sheep  herder  would 
watch  over  a  drove  of  sheep.  This  superintend- 
ent must  move  about  and  among  the  people,  es- 
pecially among  the  politicians,  to  gather  from 
gossip  among  them  the  trend  of  public  opinion. 
He  must  note  especially  any  impulses,  starting 
either  from  newspapers  or  aspiring  political 
candidates,  to  shake  off  railroad  control.  This 
superintendent  must  be  as  wise  as  a  serpent  and 
apparently  as  harmless  as  a  dove.  He  must  be 
well-informed  as  to  the  political  issues.  He 
must  know  the  sources  of  public  sentiment.  He 
must  be  on  friendly  terms  with  all  public  offi- 
cials. He  must  be  on  such  terms  with  the  gov- 
ernor of  the  state  that  he  can  always  reach  the 
executive  through  a  side  door.  He  must  be  able 
to  occupy  the  speaker's  private  office  or  the  of- 


Tlie  Free  Fass  Bribery  System. 


fice  of  the  lieutenant  governor  during  the  prog- 
ress of  the  legislative  session.  He  must  know 
how  to  meet  and  to  chum  with  all  classes  of 
free  pass  holders  and  officials.  He  must  know 
how  to  cajole  the  weak  man  who  wants  flattery 
and  how  to  jolly  up  the  hesitator  and  cause  him 
to  move  forward  in  whatever  plot  is  being  car- 
ried out.  He  must  know  how,  when  necessity 
requires,  to  coerce  and  how  to  threaten  the  pass- 
holding  official  and  how  to  turn  on  the  screws  of 
corporate  power  so  as  to  get  results  without 
breaking  the  friendly  connection  between  him- 
self and,  those  under  his  special  guardianship. 

During  the  summer  season,  while  the  mer- 
chants are  busy  in  their  stores,  the  workmen  in 
their  shops,  the  farmers  in  their  fields,  the  pass 
superintendent  is  expected  to  travel  over  the 
state  from  town  to  town.  He  must  visit  the 
professional  politicians,  the  professional  conven- 
tion delegates,  the  free  pass  holding  lawyers  and 
judges,  the  county  officers  and  local  political 
cappers  of  both  high  and  low  degree  and  always 
he  must  have  ready  for  exhibition,  when  occa- 
sion requires,  his  little  book  in  which  is  recorded 
the  names  of  the  free  pass  holders  and  the  num- 
bers of  the  passes.  " 

It  is  the  business  of  the  pass  superintendent 


&4  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System*. 

to  superintend  the  politics  of  the  pass  holders. 
What  is  each  one  doing  in  his  particular  locality 
to  earn  the  free  transportation?  The  pass  su- 
perintendent knows  how  to  find  this  out  and 
how  to  impress  his  importance  and  his  particu- 
lar business  upon  each  pass  holder  just  enough 
to  secure  results  without  making  his  business 
too  impertinent  or  offensive.  The  pass  holder 
is  given  to  understand  that  he  is  under  constant 
surveillance.  Any  serious  dereliction  of  duty  on 
his  part  will  be  noted  bj  the  superintendent. 
The  "square  deal"  demanded  of  him  by  the 
corporation  is  political  service.  A  failure  on  his 
part  to  render  the  service  will  not  only  strike 
his  name  from  the  favored  list,  but  will  ulti- 
mately put  him  out  of  the  free  pass  organization 
entirely,  which  in  Nebraska  means  to  be  out  of 
politics  and  to  be  shut  off  from  all  political 
opportunity. 

The  pass  superintendent  manages  to  let  each 
pass  holder  know  that  his  political  work  is  being 
reported  at  the  head  office  and  that  these  reports 
form  the  bnsis  upon  which  each  member  is 
marked  for  future  promotion  in  politics. 

During  this  summer  travel  the  pass  superin- 
tendent gathers  a  store  of  information  as  to  the 
local  issues  in  each  town  and  county.     What  are 


J.  H.  AGER 

Burlington  Pass  Superintendent  and  Lobbyist, 

Lincoln. 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  25 


the  newspapers  discussing  in  their  editorial 
columns?  What  new  issues  are  being  talked 
among  the  people  ?  What  local  grievance  is  there 
at  this  point  or  that,  and  what  reforms  are  be- 
ins;  incubated  and  are  likely  to  hatch  cut  at  the 
next  convention  or  at  the  next  session  of  the  leg- 
islature ?  All  this  general  information  the  su- 
perintendent is  expected  to  gather  and  to  re- 
port faithfully  to  the  railroad  headquarters. 

When  the  reports  of  the  several  traveling 
superintendents  are  made  to  these  several  heads 
of  railroad  government,  they  are  carefully  noted 
by  the  general  managers  and  from  them  the  head 
counsel  is  able  to  form  a  skeleton  plan  for  the 
nomination  of  state  officers  and  congressmen,  for 
the  election  of  United  States  senators  and  for 
the  general  control  of  legislation. 

When  a  legislature  is  to  be  selected  it  is  the 
special  business  of  the  traveling  superintendent 
to  gather  information  as  to  who  are  candidates 
for  the  legislature.  The  superintendent  is  able 
to  gather  this  information  from  the  free  pass 
holders  in  each  legislative  district,  not  only  as 
to  who  are  candidates,  but  which  candidates  are 
desirable  candidates,  and  the  bringing  out  and 
boosting  tip  of  preferred  men  is  a  delicate  but 
a  very  important  work,  in  which  the  pass  holders 


26  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

are  expected  to  stoop  to  the  very  lowest  degree 
of  subserviency  to  the  corporations.  The  travel- 
ing superintendent,  in  consultation  with  the  most 
trusted  old-time  pass  holders  in  the  legislative 
district,  goes  carefully  through  the  list  of  aspir- 
ing candidates,  marking  the  weak  man  or  the 
pliant  railroad  tool  for  preferment,  and  the 
strong  man,  the  self-respecting  and  independent 
man  for  slaughter.  The  pass  holders  contrive 
to  have  the  chosen  candidate  introduced  to  the 
superintendent,  because  it  is  a  part  of  his  busi- 
ness to  get  an  early  acquaintance  with  the  candi- 
date and  to  establish  between  the  candidate  and 
himself  an  obligation  that  is  increased  from 
time  to  time  by  the  issuance  of  trip  passes  to 
the  candidate  and  his  friends  and  party  helpers. 
Right  at  this  point,  where  the  pass  super- 
intendent establishes  this  relation  between  him- 
self and  the  candidate,  is  where  the  government 
of  the  state  commences  to  leave  the  people 
through  the  influence  of  the  free  pass  bribe. 
Many  a  community  of  unsuspecting  voters 
rallied  enthusiastically  around  an  aspiring  can- 
didate for  weeks  before  the  nominating  con- 
vention, never  suspecting  that  he  has  already 
been  procured  away  from  them  and  from  what 
they  want  in  legislation  and  government.     The 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  27 


influence  of  the  free  pass  steals  on  the  con- 
science like  creeping  paralysis.  The  man  is 
bought  and  owned,  body  and  soul,  by  the  cor- 
porations before  his  neighbors  know  it,  and  in 
many  cases  before  he  knows  it  himself. 

If  the  candidate  is  putting  himself  forward 
on  some  local  issue,  some  particular  law  which 
his  community  wants  enacted,  he  talks  this  over 
with  the  pass  holders  at  the  county  seat  and 
with  the  superintendent,  for  the  superintendent 
knows  a  way  in  which  this  local  issue  may  be 
shuffled  during  the  legislative  session  so  that 
what  the  local  community  wants  may  be  enacted 
into  law  or  may  be  defeated,  whichever  is  to 
the  advantage  of  the  railroads,  and  at  the  same 
time  the  local  member  be  made  to  appear  as 
having  done  his  very  best  to  bring  about  the 
desired  legislation. 

It  is  the  common  practice  for  the  railroads 
to  assist  preferred  legislative  candidates  with 
free  transportation,  not  only  for  themselves, 
but  for  their  political  friends,  before  the  nom- 
inating convention.  It  is  a  part  of  the  business 
of  the  pass  superintendent,  in  his  work  of  pro- 
curing" and  seducing  men,  to  inveigle  the  can- 
didate into  as  many  obligations  for  free  passes 
as  possible,  and  to  do  this  before  the  nominat- 


88  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

ing  convention,  so  that  when  the  candidate  has 
finally  achieved  his  nomination,  he  feels  that 
his  success  is  due  largely  to  the  influence  of 
the  corporations. 

The  traveling  pass  superintendent,  in  his 
memorandum  of  each  candidate,  notes  the  politi- 
cal environments  that  surround  him  in  his  home 
community.  Who  are  his  particular  friends  ? 
If  he  is  a  farmer,  which  of  his  neighbors  exert 
a  controlling  influence  over  him?  Or  which 
lawyer  or  which  judge  or  which  official  at  the 
county  seat,  or  which  business  man  in  the  town, 
is  his  adviser?  All  these  things  are  noted  by 
the  pass  superintendent  for  these  are  the  strings 
with  which  he  will  pull  the  member  when  the 
tug-of-war  comes  in  the  legislature. 

I3  it  any  wonder  that  the  people  cry  in 
vain  to  public  officialdom  when  such  a  tangled 
web  is  woven  about  these  officials  ?  Is  the  public 
aware  that  the  railroads  have  such  a  mighty 
organization?  How  to  resist  and  overpower 
this  tremendous  organized  corporate  power  is 
the  struggle  confronting  the  people  in  every 
state  in  this  country.  Am  I  wrong  when  I  say 
that  every  pass  superintendent  should  be 
spurned  with  contempt  by  all  people  when  he 
oroffers  his  bribe?     Am  I  wrong  wben  I  say 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  29 


that  every  pass  holder  should  be  marked  by  the 
people  and  left  out  of  all  nominating  conven- 
tions and  never  be  nominated  for  any  public 
office? 

The  people  must  arouse  themselves  on  this 
question  and  become  in  dead  earnest  before  they 
can  shake  off  this  blighting,  deadening,  para- 
lyzing influence.  Like  the  thief  in  the  night 
time  The  Free  Pass  System  is  entering  the 
sacred  temple  of  liberty  and  robbing  the  people 
of  the  blessings  of  self  government  and  assassi- 
nating representative  government  itself. 


SO  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


CHAPTER  V. 

TREASON  OF  OLD  TIME  PASS  HOLDERS. 

In  Nebraska  the  republican  party  is  domi- 
nant, and  so  the  froo  pass  holders  are  largely 
republicans.  Still  there  are  a  number  of  legis- 
lative districts  in  this  state  where  the  opposition 
is  in  power.  In  such  districts  the  railroads  are 
able,  through  the  means  of  the  free  pass,  to  get 
the  same,  loyal  service  from  the  pass  holders 
as  if  they  were  republicans.  What  the  railroads 
want  from  each  legislative  district  is  a  "friendly 
Injun"  in  the  legislature.  It  is  of  little  impor- 
tance to  them  what  the  member's  political  be- 
lief is.  "When  once  they  get  their  free  passes 
into  his  pocket  and  the  bargain  is  made  for  his 
services,  the  railroads  have  no  further  interest 
in  him,  except  to  use  him  until  his  reputation 
is  worn  out  among  his  constituents,  and  then 
cast  him  aside.  The  bringing  out  of  a  legisla- 
tive candidate  is  left  largely  to  the  advice  and 
judgment  of  the  local  pass  holders. 

In  some  of  the  older  counties,   where  the 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  SI 

old  pass  holders  are  under  suspicion  from  the 
public,  the  work  of  manipulating  county  con- 
ventions is  very  delicate  and  requires  the  ut- 
most caution  and  skill.  In  these  counties  it 
would  be  unsafe  for  the  legislative  candidates 
to  advertise  close  relations  with  these  old  pass 
holders.  These  men  have  been  conspicuous 
railroad  cappers  for  so  many  years  that  they 
are  thoroughly  well  known  and  their  political 
maneuvering  is  closely  watched  in  every  part 
of  the  county.  Twenty  years  ago  the  fact  that 
these  pass  holders  were  supporting  certain  can- 
didates for  the  legislature  would  create  a  local 
band  wagon  into  which  every  politician  in  the 
county  would  want  to  climb.  When  the  old 
pass  holders  gave  it  out  that  they  were  for 
Smith,  that  meant  that  Smith  would  be  nomi- 
nated at  the  county  convention. 

!STow,  the  situation  is  different.  They  are 
now  compelled  to  work  under  cover.  They  are 
too  valuable  in  the  services  they  have  rendered 
to  railroad  influence  to  be  dropped  from  the 
free  pass  list,  and  they  are  still  in  the  game, 
but  they  play  the  game  another  way  now  If 
Smith  is  the  candidate  agreed  on  between  the 
railroads  and  the  pass  holders,  there  must  go 
along  with  the  Smith  conspiracy  a  decoy  can- 


32  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

didate.  There  must  be  a  wooden  duck  out  in 
plain  view  somewhere  for  the  farmers  to  shoot 
at.  Smith's  candidacy  is  brought  out  in  some 
remote  part  of  the  county,  through  an  announce- 
ment in  some  innocent  country  paper,  while 
these  pass  holders  announce  themselves  for  the 
decoy  candidate  Brown.  By  this  arrangement 
the  voters  who  oppose  railroad  dictation  and 
are  suspicious  of  the  political  plans  of  the  pass 
holders  are  entrapped  into  spending  their  anti- 
railroad  energies  against  the  scapegoat  Brown. 
And  this  may  be  done  either  with  or  without 
Brown's  knowledge  or  consent.  Brown  may  be 
a  free  pass  holder,  or  he  may  be  desiring  to  be- 
come a  free  pass  holder,  and  he  may  agree  to 
this  use  of  himself  as  a  candidate  in  order  to 
earn  his  free  transportation  and  a  standing  with 
the  railroad  clique. 

The  farmers  and  the  square  business  men 
who  want  open  competition  in  the  grain  busi- 
ness and  reasonable  freight  rates  are  by  this 
trie]:  of  Brown's  candidacy  fooled  into  the  sup- 
port of  Smith,  who  in  reality  is  the  very  man 
that  the  pass  holders  and  the  railroads  want  in 
the  legislature. 

Sometimes  these  old  time  pass  holders  fool 
tho  public  by  pretending  to  be  "out"  with  the 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  33 


railroad  plans.  A  notable  instance  of  this  kind 
of  maneuvering  was  furnished  in  one  of  the 
Nebraska  counties  four  years  ago. 

D.  E.  Thompson  of  Lincoln,  now  United 
States  ambassador  to  Brazil,  was  the  Burling- 
ton's preferred  candidate  for  the  United  States 
senate.  Thompson's  candidacy  from  its  very 
first  announcement  was  offensive  to  Nebraska 
people.  Their  opposition  to  him  was  of  about 
the  same  character  and  for  about  the  same  rea- 
sons as  that  of  the  people  of  Delaware  to  "Gas" 
Addicks*  Their  methods  in  politics  were  very 
much  the  same.  There  was  a  similarity  be- 
tween them  in  their  political  methods  and  in 
the  lack  of  fitness  for  so  high  and  so  honorable 
and  so  important  a  position  as  United  States 
senator.  And  so  Thompson's  name  as  a  can- 
didate for  United  States  senator  was  a  red  flag- 
to  the  farmers  of  that  county.  They  did  not 
want  him  for  senator.  They  did  not  want  him 
in  scarcely  any  county  in  the  state.  The  people 
who  stood  for  clean  politics  and  representative 
government  were  against  him.  Only  Mr. 
Holdrege  and  the  railroads  wanted  him. 

But  in  this  particular  county,  where  the 
people  had  seen  so  much  of  railroad  dictation, 
and  where  there  was   a  strong  determination 


Slf.  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

among  the  republicans  to  throw  off  the  railroad 
yoke,  the  announcement  of  Thompson's  candi- 
dacy aroused  the  fiercest  opposition.  Thomp- 
son, in  consultation  with  these  old  pass  holders, 
realized  that  it  would  be  folly  for  him  to  un- 
dertake to  secure  a  legislative  representative 
friendly  to  his  candidacy  by  direct  means. 
There  must  be  a  conspiracy.  There  must  be 
a  man  brought  out  who  was  willing  to  act  the 
part  of  the  decoy.  Right  at  this  point  the  old 
pass  holders  took  the  tack  which  I  have  already 
suggested.  They  pretended  to  be  "out"  with 
the  Burlington's  plans.  They  pretended  to  be 
opposed  to  Thompson.  The  old  pass  holders 
were  so  well  known  in  this  county,  and  what 
they  were  doing  in  politics  was  so  much  a  matter 
of  general  local  interest,  that  when  they  gave 
it  out  flat,  with  a  fine  pretense  of  indignation, 
that  they  were  opposed  to  Thompson's  candi- 
dacy, and  would  fight  the  Burlington  machine 
to  the  death  on  that  issue,  it  went  like  wild 
fire  among  the  people  and  was  a  sensation  in 
every  village  and  country  neighborhood.    . 

To  make  their  story  plausible  and  their  new 
attitude  appear  sincere,  they  talked  it  frankly 
among  the  farmers  and  local  politicians  of  the 
county  that  they  had  been  working  with  the 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  35 

Burlington  machine  for  many  years;  that  they 
had  the  highest  personal  respect  and  the  warm- 
est friendship  for  Mr.  Holdrege,  but  now  this 
Thompson  candidacy  was  too  much.  It  was 
more  than  they  could  stand. 

The  effect  of  this  changed  attitude  on  the 
part  of  these  old  pass  holders  was  to  check  the 
current  of  opposition  to  them  and  to  put  them 
at  once  in  harmony  with  the  anti-Thompson 
republicans  of  the  county. 

There  were  decoy  candidates  brought  out, 
who  announced  themselves  openly  for  Thomp- 
son. Agaist  them  these  old  pass  holders  made 
a  flourishing  opposition.  aWhat  we  want," 
said  they,  "is  some  honest  farmer  for  a  candi- 
date. We  want  some  man  who  is  near  the 
people,  and  who  is  opposed  to  D.  E.  Thompson 
and  the  Burlington  machine." 

When  the  county  convention  met  at  the 
county  seat  a  humble  looking  little  man  from 
the  southern  part  of  the  county,  who  had  never 
been  seen  or  heard  of  before,  bobbed  up  as  a 
candidate  for  the  legislature.  The  old  pass 
holders,  rallying  the  anti-Thompson  and  the 
anti-Burlington  forces  around  him,  secured  his 
nomination  and  he  was  elected. 

The  triumph  of  the  Burlington  machine,  D. 
E.  Thompson  and  these  old  pass  holders  was 


36  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


complete.  The  next  day  after  the  election  the 
unknown  little  man,  in  company  with  one  of 
these  old  pass  holders,  with  a  free  pass  in  his 
pocket  went  to  Omaha,  and  there  made  a  formal 
presentation  and  surrender  of  himself  to  Gen- 
eral Manager  Holdrege.  It  was  a  smooth  piece 
of  work,  and  the  general  manager  took  occasion 
to  congratulate  the  old  pass  holder  as  he  had 
often  done  before. 

When  the  legislative  session  convened  the 
people  of  that  county  read,  with  mingled  indig- 
nation and  shame,  that  their  legislative  member 
was  lined  up  as  a  supporter  of  the  hated  Thomp- 
son. In  recording  this  incident  it  is  but  fair 
to  say  of  the  unknown  little  man  that  his  work 
of  betrayal  was  confined  to  the  people  of  that 
county.  He  was  loyal  to  the  pass  holders,  loyal 
to  Thompson,  and  loyal  to  the  Burlington 
machine.  The  betrayed  voters  of  that  county 
fumed  with  indignation.  (  They  sent  commit- 
tees of  representative  men  to  the  state  capitol. 
They  protested  against  their  legislative  member 
voting  for  Thompson.  But  the  little  man  was 
too  deep  in  the  toils  of  the  free  pass  machine. 
He  was  too  weak  to  break  away  from  the  wicked 
conspiracy  which  had  given  him  the  legislative 
seat.     And  so,  throughout  the  entire  session,  lie 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  S7 


continued  to  cast  the  stolen  legislative  vote  from 
that  county  for  a  man  whose  onlj  friends  and 
real  supporters  in  that  county  were  the  old 
time  pass  holders. 


' 


88  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

SEDUCTIVE    INFLUENCE    OF    THE    FREE    PASS. 

Every  county  in  the  state  has  its  story  of 
tricks  and  betrayals.  Through  each  one  runs 
this  thread  of  conspiracy  between  the  railroads 
and  the  free  pass  holders.  If  the  people  of 
Nebraska  will  look  back  through  the^ast  twenty- 
five  years,  they  will  see  where  they  have  been 
tricked  and  betrayed  here  and  there,  and  always, 
in  each  plot,  they  will  see  the  free  pass  holder 
£8  the  chief  conspirator. 

Legislative  members,  as  a  rule,  are  men  who 
stand  well  at  home.  No  one  can  see,  and  there- 
fore no  one  can  say,  just  what  is  in  the  secret 
purpose  of  a  man  when  he  asks  his  neighbors 
and  fellow-citizens  to  send  him  to, the  legisla- 
ture. I  love  to  think  that  somewhere  in  the 
plans  of  each  one  is  something  he  hopes  to 
accomplish  for  the  good  of  the  whole  public. 
At  least  there  is  some  local  wrong  which  he 
hopes  to  make  right.  But  at  the  very  starting 
point   of  his   candidacy,   innocent  of   the  full 


The  Free  Poss  Bribery  System.  89 

effects  of  The  Free  Pass  System  to  swerve  him 
from  the  true  course,  he  becomes  unconsciously 
a  victim  of  its  influence.  Not  only  does  he 
entangle  himself  when  he  begins  to  nibble  at 
the  free  pass  bait,  but  he  brings  his  friends  and 
neighbors  within  the  danger  of  the  deadly  hook. 
The  lawyer  at  the  county  seat  shows  the 
candidate  where  he  will  need  here  and  there 
some  trip  passes  for  himself  and  his  friends 
during  the  campaign.  The  lawyer  will  procure 
these  for  the  candidate,  or  he  will  introduce  him 
to  the  traveling  pass  superintendent.  Once  as- 
sured that  he  has  a  pull  for  free  passes,  the 
candidate  naturally  begins  to  use  it.  He  be- 
gins be  be  not  only  a  free  pass  holder,  but  a 
free  pass  distributor.  He  not  only  adds  him- 
self to  the  system,  but  helps  it  along  by  spread- 
ing it  out  where  it  will  ensnare  and  seduce 
others  as  innocent  perhaps  as  himself.  He  does 
not  at  the  first  fully  realize  the  effect  of  all 
this.  It  seems  harmless.  Having  no  definite 
plot  for  wrong  doing  in  his  mind,  he  naturally 
justifies  any  ordinary  means  by  which  he  can 
help  liimself  or  his  friends.  He  feels  that  his 
election  to  the  legislature  will  be  a  good  thing 
on  general  principles  for  his  constituents,  and 
any   reasonable   means    which   he   can    employ 


J+0  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

to  bring  this  about  is  certainly  not  a  bad  tiring. 

To  use  the  pass  as  an  assistance  to  his  can- 
didacy does  not  seem  to  him  to  be  a  betrayal 
of  the  public.  There  is  no  betrayal  in  his  plans 
as  a  prospective  legislator.  He  means  to  be 
true  to  his  constituents  in  a  general  way.  But 
still  he  must  be  practical.  He  must  use  such 
practical  means  as  are  necessary  to  secure  his 
success.  To  be  practical  means  that  he  must 
make  some  concessions  to  the  personal  wishes 
of  others.  He  will  never  be  able  to  build  around 
his  own  candidacy  the  support  of  other  local 
politicians  unless  he  can  show  these  politicians 
that  his  success  will  advantage  them.  The 
use  of  the  free  pass  in  politics  may  be  objection- 
able, but  it  is  a  part  of  the  political  conditions, 
and  he  cannot  change  the  conditions  all  at  once 
to  suit  the  higher  ideals  he  may  have.  If  he 
goes  in  to  win,  he  must  use  the  same  means 
that  others  have  used.  The  thought  of  buying 
support  for  himself  with  money  would  shock 
the  candidate.  Neither  he  nor  his  neighbors 
are  familiar  with  the  use  of  money  as  a  political 
bribe,  But  the  free  pass  is  a  familiar  thing. 
It  is  a  sort  of  medium  of  exchange.  It  is  a 
measure  of  values  between  politicians.  There  is 
scarcely  a  man  in  the  entire  county  identified 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  £1 


in  any  manner  with  the  history  of  public  af- 
fairs who  is  not,  or  has  not  been  at  some  time, 
a  user  of  free  passes.  To  be  sure  the  free  pass 
has  been  denounced  as  a  bribe.  But  is  it  really 
a  bribe  after  all?  There  is  the  district  judge 
at  the  county  seat.  He  was  a  regular  pass 
holder  for  many  years  before  he  was  elevated 
to  the  bench.  Everybody  knew  it  and  yet  no 
one  seemed  to  object  to  the  judge  on  that  ac- 
count. This  judge  has  continued  to  ride  on  free 
passes  and  his  family  have  used  them  more 
than  ever  since  he  was  elected.  And  surely 
the  judge  would  not  sanction  or  participate  "in 
a  scheme  that  was  intended  to  bribe.  Most  of 
the  district  judges  in  the  state  and  their  families, 
the  supreme  court  judges  and  their  families, 
the  state  officers  and  their  families,  the  congress- 
men and  their  families,  the  United  States  sen- 
ators and  their  families,  all  the  whole  court 
machinery  of  the  state  and  the  entire  official 
force  of  the  state  and  national  government  from 
top  to  bottom,  are  directly  connected  with  the 
railroads  through  The  Free  Pass  System,  and 
surely  these  railroads  have  not  been  able  to 
bribe  and  to  buy  up  the  whole  judicial  system 
and  all  the  official  heads  of  the  government  ? 
The  governors  have  used  passes  for  themselves, 


1$  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

their  families,  and  their  political  friends  from 
the  earliest  history  of  the  state  down  to  the 
present  time.  Legislators  have  always  been  on 
familiar  terms  with  the  free  pass  distributors 
and  the  railroad  pass  superintendents.  And 
why  should  this  candidate,  now  reasoning  it 
all  out  to  himself,  why  should  he  set  up  his 
individual  judgment  and  reject  a  system  that 
has  gone  hand  in  hand  with  politics  and  state 
government  for  thirty  years  ? 

-  And  now  there  is  a  young  lawyer  in  one 
of  the  smaller  towns  of  the  county.  This  young 
lawyer  can  secure  for  this  candidate  the  sup- 
port of  that  locality  in  the  coming  county  con- 
vention, hut  the  young  lawyer  wants  an  annual 
pass  for  his  trouble.  The  old  pass  holders  at 
the  county  seat  and  the  traveling  pass  superin- 
tendent have  agreed  that  they  will  help  to  carry 
out  this  bargain  with  the  young  lawyer.  After 
his  election  to  the  legislature  the  candidate 
will  be  able,  with  the  assistance  of  the  old  time 
pass  holders  at  the  county  seat  and  the  travel- 
ing superintendent,  to  get  the  young  lawyer 
the  annual  pass.  Besides  the  young  ^wyer, 
there  are  a  dozen  or  so  political  worteiv  in  the 
county,  each  of  whom  is  expecting  a  reward 
for  his  activity.     When  the  member  gets  into 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  4$ 

the  legislature  these  political  friends  will  be 
reminding  him  of  their  valuable  services  already 
rendered.  They  will  be  demanding  some  "recog- 
nition." Recognition  in  politics  means  almost 
anything  from  a  trip  pass  to  the  United  States 
senatorship.  Every  successful  politician  must 
have  some  way  of  meeting  these  demands  for 
"recognition."  And  now  here  is  The  Free  Pass 
System  offering  itself  as  a  medium  of  exchange. 
It  is  certainly  a  very  convenient  arrangement 
whereby  the  successful  candidate  can  square 
himself  with  his  political  helpers  by  a  few  in- 
nocent passes  which  can  be  gotten  for  the  mere 
asking. 

And  so  the  candidate,  reasoning  with  him- 
self, and  with  more  or  less  innocence,  walks  into 
the  railroad  free  pass  net  from  which  he  never 
will  be  able  to  disentangle  himself. 


.4.4  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

PASSES   AND   PERJURY. 

When  the  legislature  convenes  at  the  state 
capitol  and  before  it  can  enter  upon  its  duties 
as  a  lawmaking  body,  each  member  is  required 
to  qualify.  The  official  oath  provided  for  in 
the  state  constitution  is  presented  to  him.  After 
ho  takes  the  oath  he  may  assume  the  duties  of 
his  office,  but  if  he  finds  that  he  is  unable  to 
take  the  oath  without  committing  perjury,  he 
may  refuse  to  take  it  and  retire  from  the  posi- 
tion to  which  he  was  elected.  The  oath  is  as 
follows : 

"I  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  will 
support  the  constitution  of  the  United  States, 
the  constitution  of  the  state  of  Nebraska,  and 
will  faithfully  discharge  the  duties  of  (a  mem- 
ber of  the  legislature,)  to  the  best  of  my  ability ; 
and  that  at  the  election  at  which  I  was  chosen 
to  fill  said  office,  I  have  not  improperly  in- 
fluenced in  any  way  the  vote  of  any  elector,  and 
have  not  accepted,  nor  will  I  accept  or  receive, 
directly  or  indirectly,  any  money  or  other  valu- 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  JSystem.  Jf.5 


able  thing  from  any  corporation,  coiiipany  or 
person,  or  any  promise  of  office,  for  any  offi- 
cial act  or  influence,  for  any  vote  I  may  give 
or  withhold  on  any  bill,  resolution,  or  appro- 
priation." 

This  oath  is  intended  as  a  searchlight  by 
which  the  state  may  examine  the  status  of  the 
legislative  member  before  he  is  allowed  to  enter 
upon  his  duties.  The  state  intends  to  have 
clean  men  in  its  official  positions.  It  intends 
that  when  they  enter  its  service  they  shall  be 
untrammeled  and  free  of  secret  obligations  or 
influences  that  might  come  between  them  and 
the  faithful  performance  of  their  duties  to  the 
state.  Here  now  are  a  hundred  and  thirty- 
three  men  presenting  election  certificates.  By 
these  certificates  they  show  that  they  have  been 
elected  to  the  legislature.  But  the  presenting 
of  these  election  certificates  is  not  enough  to 
satisfy  the  state  that  they  are  entitled  to  hold 
these  offices.  They  may  present  the  election 
certificates  and  report  for  duty  and  the  state 
recognize  these  certificates  as  evidence  that  the 
men  have  been  duly  elected,  but  the  state  wants 
to  know  more  than  that.  It  wants  to  know 
whether  they  have  been  elected  by  proper 
methods  and  whether  there  is  any  secret  bargain 


J/.6  Tlie  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

or  obligation  which,  if  known,  would  render 
them  unfit  to  serve.  The  state  understands 
that  the  people  in  the  several  legislative  districts 
of  the  state  may  elect  men  to  office,  but  in  the 
general  scramble  for  public  place  some  men 
may  be  elected  who  are  not  qualified  and  have 
no  right  to  the  position.  A  citizen  of  England, 
for  example,  residing  temporarily  in  Nebraska, 
might  fool  his  constituents  and  gain  an  elec- 
tion. But  the  constitution  of  Nebraska  has 
provided  that  no  one  but  citizens  of  the  United 
States  and  citizens  of  Nebraska  are  qualified 
to  hold  office  in  Nebraska.  And  now  the  con- 
stitution of  the  state,  looking  these  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-three  men  in  the  face  as  they 
stand  there  with  uplifted  hands,  propounds, 
by  means  of  the  official  oath  above  quoted, 
certain  questions  to  them  which  are  intended 
to  test  their  qualifications.  A  careful  reading 
of  the  oath  shows  that  it  was  thoughtfully  pre- 
pared. The  keenness  with  which  it  searches 
the  conscience  of  the  official  shows  that  the 
makers  of  the  constitution  were  in  earnest. 
They  intended  it,  not  as  a  mere  formal  matter, 
but  as  a  serious  obligation  which  no  man  could 
lightly  assume. 

And  first  the  state,  speaking  through  the 


Tlie  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  Jf.7 


oath,  wants  to  know  of  the  elected  legislative 
member,  as  he  stands  there  with  uplifted  hand, 
whether  or  not  he  is  prepared  to  support  the 
constitution  of  the  United  States.  If  there  is 
a  conspiracy  in  the  legislature  of  the  state 
against  the  general  government,  the  state  wants 
to  know  about  it.  Or  if  any  one  of  these  elected 
members  is  not  legally  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States,  but  is  bound  under  oath  to  some  foreign 
power,  the  state  wants  to  know  tnat,  and  it 
wants  to  know  it  now  before  it  permits  him  to 
assume  the  functions  of  lawmaking.  He  may 
have  been  popular  in  the  community  where  he 
lived,  but  that  is  not  enough.  He  may  have 
received  a  large  vote,  but  that  is  not  enough. 
If  his  neighbors  have  over-looked  this  inquiry 
into  his  citizenship,  then  this  oath  will  either 
disclose  the  facts  or  else  the  man  will  hide  the 
facts  with  perjury. 

Next  the  oath  goes  on  to  test  him  as  to 
whether  he  is  a  citizen  of  Nebraska.  He  may 
be  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  but  if  he  has 
not  obtained  a  legal  residence  in  Nebraska,  he 
13  legally  disqualified  to  hold  office  in  Nebraska 
and  must  stand  aside. 

Now  suppose  the  member's  citizenship  to 
be  regular,  the  oath  goes  on  to  test  him  as  to  the 


48  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System-. 

means  by  which  he  procured  his  election.  If 
lie  practiced  fraud  or  bribery  to  secure  his  elec- 
tion, he  is  disqualified,  and  the  state,  now  look- 
ing into  his  political  record,  wants  to  know 
about  it. 

On  this  quest ioin  of  his  election  the  language 
of  the  oath,  if  j3ut  in  the  form  of  a  question, 
would  say:  "Have  you  used  any  improper  in- 
fluence to  secure  your  election  V* 

By  this  direct  question  the  state  seems  to 
be  on  the  lookout  for  some  conspiracy.  Im- 
proper influence  to  secure  public  office  is  always 
a  conspiracy  against  the  state  and  this  is  more 
particularly  true  of  any  conspiracy  to  control 
the  lawmaking  body.  It  will  be  noted  by  the 
reader  that  the  language  of  this  oath  does  not 
confine  the  inquiry  to  the  use  of  money.  The 
state  understands  that  there  are  many  forces 
conspiring  against  good  government  and  many 
ways  of  bribing  the  voters  besides  the  direct 
use  of  money.  If  any  member  now  holding  np 
his  hand  has  secured  his  office  by  the  use  of 
free  transportation,  or  the  promise  to  obtain 
free  transportation,  that  is  the  "improper  in- 
fluence" which  the  %tate  by  means  of  this  oath 
is  now  trying  to  search  out.  Any  member  avIio 
Kaa  bargained  for   political   support  has   used 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  J/.9 


''improper  influence"  and  he  must  now  either 
frankly  admit  the  facts  and  retire  as  being- 
disqualified  under  the  constitution  or  he  must 
commit  perjury. 

JSTor  can  a  member,  when  the  oath  is  pre- 
sented to  him,  justify  himself  that  the  use  of 
free  transportation  is  not  "improper  influence" 
within  the  meaning  of  the  law.  For  even  our 
Nebraska  judges,  who  themselves  take  free 
transportation,  have  ruled  in  the  conduct  of 
trials,  where  a  railroad  comoanv  is  one  of  the 
parties  to  the  suit,  that  free  transportation  is 
an  "improper  influence,"  and  a  juror  when 
challenged  in  any  of  our  state  courts,  will  be 
discharged  from  the  trial  of  any  case,  if  it  is 
shown  that  he  has  been  furnished  with  free 
passes  by  the  other  side. 

"What  a  comment  it  is  upon  the  official 
record  of  Nebraska  that  for  thirty  years  our 
legislators,  judges,  governors  and  public  offi- 
cials have  been  taking  this  official  oath  and  at 
the  same  time  taking  these  free  passes !  What 
a  comment  it  is  on  our  courts  of  justice  that 
the  judges  on  the  bench  will  rule  off  a  pass 
holding  juror  while  the  judge  himself  tries  the 
case  with  his  own  pockets  full  of  free  passes ! 

But  if  our  public  officials  shield  themselves 


50  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

on  the  theory  that  this  oath,  where  it  says 
"improper  influence,"  does  not  mean  free  rail- 
road transportation  then  let  us  further  examine 
the  oath,  for  the  more  you  consider  its  careful 
reading  the  more  it  appears  that  the  framers 
of  the  constitution,  who  thought  out  and  formu- 
lated the  oath,  were  pointing  directly  at  The 
Free  Pass  System.  After  the  legislative  mem- 
ber, standing  there  with  upraised  hand,  has 
passed  the  test  as  to  his  citizenship,  and  has 
either  justified  himself  by  the  facts  or  perjured 
himself  as  to  the  manner  in  which  he  secured 
his  election,  the  oath  goes  on  to  make  a  special 
inquiry  as  to  the  past  relations  between  the 
member  and  the  corporations. 

The  term  "improper  influence"  was  not 
sufficiently  definite  for  this  particular  inquiry 
into  the  secret  relations  between  the  member 
and  the  corporations,  and  the  oath  at  this  point 
i*  now  most  specific.  ISTote  the  exact  language : 
"I  have  not  accepted,  nor  will  I  accept,  or  re- 
ceive, directly  or  indirectly,  any  money,  or 
other  valuable  thing  from  any  corporation,  com- 
pany or  person,  or  any  promise  of  office,  for 
any  official  act  or  influence  or  fo**  any  vote  I 
may  give  or  withhold  on  any  bill,  resolution 
or  appropriation." 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  51 

When  we  note  the  careful  wording  of  this 
part  of  the  oath  we  wonder  that  there  should 
be  any  question  in  the  mind  of  any  intelligent 
official  that  this  does  not  refer  directly  to  the 
free  pass.  The  member  must  say  in  this  oath, 
"I  have  not  received,  nor  will  I  accept,  from 
any  corporation,  any  valuable  thing." 

The  liberty-loving  people  of  Philadelphia 
congregated  in  the  streets  and  talked  in  whispers 
sc  great  was  their  anxiety,  while  the  Conti- 
nental Congress  was  deliberating  on  the  passage 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  And  when 
the  bells  rang  out,  there  went  up  from  the 
people  a  great  shout  of  exultation,  for  the  first 
stroke  of  Old  Liberty  Bell  told  them  that  "No 
English  gold  or  other  valuable  thing"  had  been 
able  to  bribe  the  members  of  the  Continental 
Congress. 

History  tells  us  that  in  all  that  great  strug- 
gle for  representative  government,  Benedict 
Arnold  was  the  only  man  who  accepted  free 
transportation  from  the  enemies  of  his  country. 
If  the  people  of  Nebraska,  whose  government 
has  been  bribed  and  bought  away  from  them 
for  the  last  quarter  of  a  century,  could  assemble 
in  one  great  body  as  witnesses  to  the  opening 
proceedings   of  the   Nebraska   legislature,   and 


52  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

if  they  could  hear  this  oath,  which  the  constitu- 
tion provided  for  their  protection,  being  ad- 
ministered at  the  state  house  to  legislators, 
judges,  governors,  and  all  public  officials,  and 
if  they  could  at  the  same  time  see  the  hundreds 
of  free  pass  bribes  that  are  in  the  pockets  of 
these  officials,  and  if  the  people  looking  on 
could  understand  that  among  all  these  hundreds 
of  trusted  public  servants  none  are  true  enough 
to  swear  true,  and  that  the  oath  they  take  is  "a 
mockery  and  a  lie,  it  seems  to  me  the  people 
with  one  accord  would  agree  among  themselves 
that  never  again  through  all  the  coming  years 
could  any  free  pass  perjurer  or  betrayer  be 
allowed  to  hold  a  seat  in  any  political  conven- 
tion, or  be  named  for  any  official  position. 

-Just  as  soon  as  the  people  come  to  under- 
stand the  power  that  this  free  pass  system  exerts, 
and  how  it  not  only  corrupts  and  procures  men 
but  how  it  leads  them  to  perjury,  they  will  hold 
a  series  of  conventions  in  which  no  pass  holder 
will  be  allowed,  and  they  will  create  a  state 
government  that  will  forever  abolish  The  Free 
Pass  System. 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  53 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  LOBBYISTS  ORGANIZE  THE  LEGISLATURE. 

Having  now  considered  the  moral,  or  rather 
the  immoral  status  of  these  one  hundred  and 
thirty-three  men,  who  constitute  the  lawmaking 
body  of  the  state,  and  how  the  free  pass  bribery 
system  has  led  them  to  perjure  themselves  at 
the  very  outset,  let  us  consider  the  general  en- 
vironments and  influences  that  surround  them 
as  they  enter  upon  their  deliberations.  Hav- 
ing taken  the  oath  in  the  east  end  of  the  capitol 
building,  the  thirty-three  senators  now  retire 
to  the  senate  chamber  in  the  west  end  and 
each  department  is  now  ready  to  be  organized. 
In  the  matter  of  organization  the  struggle  be- 
tween the  government  by  the  people  and  gov- 
ernment by  the  railroads,  which  was  carried 
on  with  such  energy  during  the  political  cam- 
paign, now  continues.  The  political  lobbyists 
employed  by  the  railroads  canvassed  the  state 
from  county  to  county  prior  to  the  conventions 
assisting  the  free  pass  holders  everywhere 


54-  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

getting  "friendly  Injuns"  for  the  legislature. 
It  is  now  the  business  of  the  lobbyists  to  see 
that  the  legislature  is  "properly  organized." 
In  this  work  of  organizing,  the  lobbyists  are 
well  equipped.  They  have  the  advantage  of  a 
personal  acquaintance  and  a  close  relation  with 
each  individual  member.  They  have  the  fur- 
ther advantage  of  an  obligation  from  each  mem- 
ber for  free  transportation,  not  only  for  him- 
self but  for  his  family,  his  personal  friends  and 
his  political  helpers. 

Not  only  are  the  lobbyists  fortified  with 
these  relations  between  themselves  and  the  mem- 
bers, but  each  lobbyist  is  peculiarly  fitted  by 
character  and  experience  for  his  business.  It 
is  their  business  to  procure  and  to  seduce  men. 
The  lobbyists  are  employed  by  the  transporta- 
tion companies  for  that  purpose.  The  free 
pass  conspiracy  depends  chiefly  upon  the  work 
of  these  professional  lobbyists  for  its  success. 
Every  bribing  system  must  have  men  to  act  as 
go-betweens  between  the  bribe  giver  and  the 
bribe  taker.  It  is  the  purpose  of  the  trans- 
portation companies  not  only  to  issue  these  free 
pass  bribes,  but  to  distribute  them  systematically 
and  discriminately,  and  there  must  be  ex- 
perienced and  tactful  men,  who  not  only  know 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  55 

how  to  reach  other  men  with  these  free  pass 
bribes,  but  how  to  superintend  this  army  of  free 
pass  holders  and  to  use  it  in  the  interest  of 
railroad  government. 

The  lobbyist  must  be  an  all-'round  handy 
man.  He  must  know  how  to  procure  men,  and 
how  to  hold  them  under  subjection  to  rail- 
road will.  The  governor  over  there  across  the 
hall  is  called  the  governor  of  the  state,  and  the 
people  love  to  think  of  the  chief  executive  as 
being  the  head  of  the  state  government.  There 
is  the  supreme  court  with  its  supreme  judges 
and  its  court  commissioners,  and  the  people 
love  to  think  that  this  court  of  last  resort  is 
above  and  beyond  all  corporate  influence. 
There  are  the  members  of  the  legislature  and 
all  other  public  officials  in  the  state,  and  the 
people  love  to  think  that  these  officials  are  all 
their  representatives.  But  whatever  the  con- 
fiding people  may  think  of  these  dignified  de- 
partments, the  chief  power  in  the  government 
of  Nebraska  is  the  influence  of  the  railroad 
political  lobbyist. 

.  •  With  the  legislature  now  convened  and 
with  hundreds  of  free  pass  holders  gathered  in 
the  capital  city,  crowding  each  other  every  day 
in   the  corridors   of  the   state  house,  the  pro- 


56  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

fessional  paid  lobbyist  knows  more  men,  and 
can  call  more  of  the  men  by  name,  and  can 
reach  more  of  them  through  his  personal  in- 
fluence than  any  official,  whatever  may  be  his 
position.  The  lobbyist  knows  the  ins  and  outs 
of  politics.  lie  knows  the  issues  pending  in 
every  county  of  the  state.  He  knows  the  re- 
lation between  each  state  official  and  each  mem- 
ber of  the  legislature.  He  knows  the  leading 
men  in  each  home  community  on  whom  the  mem- 
ber must  depend  for  advice  and  political  sup- 
port. Among  all  these  hundreds  of  officials 
there  is  not  one  on  whom  the  lobbyist  cannot 
pull  some  string  of  power. 

When  the  house  members  take  up  the  mat- 
ter of  the  organization  of  their  body  there  are 
always  some  members,  especially  new  members, 
who  are  under  the  superstition  that  they  them- 
selves are  having  something  to  do  with  this 
business  of  organizing  the  legislature.  The 
newspaper  gossip  that  goes  out  to  the  people 
for  several  days  prior  to  the  organization  gives 
the  people  also  an  impression  that  their  repre- 
sentatives are  engaged  in  this  earnest  struggle 
over  the  organization.  But  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
and  every  well  informed  politician  in  the  state 
will  bear  me  out  in  this  statement,  the  legisla- 


ROBERT  CLANCEY 

Union  Pacific  Lobbyist, 

Omaha. 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  51 

ture  is  organized,  especially  as  to  the  election 
of  speaker  and  the  make-up  of  important  com- 
mittees, not  by  the  members  themselves,  nor  the 
influence  of  their  honest  constituents  pressing 
upon  them,  but  by  railroad  influence  exerted 
through  the  hired  professional  lobbyists.  The 
newspapers  of  all  parties  in  the  state  have  been 
fair  enough  in  their  accounts  of  these  proceed- 
ings to  advise  the  public  at  each  legislative 
session  that  the  struggles  over  the  organization 
of  the  legislature  are  like  the  struggles  which 
occur  in  the  state  conventions,  merely  trials  of 
strength  between  the  great  corporation  influ- 
ences or  else  an  agreement  between  them. 

Generally  in  state  and  congressional  con- 
ventions there  is  more  or  less  of  contention 
between  the  different  railroad  organizations 
of  the  state.  Each  railroad  wants  under  its 
control  as  much  power  as  it  can  get  at  the 
National  Capitol.  And  so,  on  the  question  of 
nominating  congressmen  and  in  the  election  of 
United  States  senators,  the  railroads  sometimes 
contend  against  each  other.  In  the  election  of 
governor  or  other  state  officers  there  is  also  more 
or  less  of  struggle  between  the  corporations. 
Each  railroad  wants  to  exert,  for  the  protection 
of  its  own  particular  interest,  as  much  power 


5S  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

as  possible  at  the   state  house  over  the   state 
government. 

But  in  the  matter  of  the  organization  of 
the  legislature  there  is  generally  no  contest  be- 
tween railroad  influences.  What  they  want  is 
general  railroad  control  over  the  lawmaking 
body,  and  there  is  little  or  no  friction  between 
them  as  to  how  the  lawmaking  body  shall  be 
organized.  The  hired  lobbyists  are  instructed 
to  agree  among  themselves  as  to  who  shall  be 
speaker  of  the  house,  who  shall  be  president 
pro  tern  of  the  senate,  what  trusted  members 
shall  be  placed  on  the  important  committees, 
and  all  this  work,  planned  out  between  the 
lobbyists,  is  carried  on  in  such  a  way  that  not 
only  the  public  is  fooled,  but  a  large  proportion 
of  the  members  themselves  are  fooled  into  the 
belief  that  their  organization  is  their  own  work. 
The  lobbyists  having  the  early  acquaintance 
with  the  members,  and  having  seduced  and 
obligated  them  before  they  reached  the  legisla- 
ture, are  able,  in  this  work  of  organizing  the 
body,  to  absolutely  dictate  the  whole  organiza- 
tion. The  lobbyists  can  go  so  far  as  to  parcel 
out  the  minor  legislative  positions  to  their  per- 
sonal friends  and  adherents,  many  of  whom 
render  no  particular  service  to  the  state,  but 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  59 

are  occupied  chiefly  in  the  service  of  the  rail- 
road lobbyists. 

I  am  not  surprised  that  the  millionaire  own- 
ers of  these  railroads,  living  as  they  do  far 
removed  from  these  scenes  where  the  power  of 
their  great  corporations  is  exerted,  should  con- 
sent to  the  use  of  this  power  by  means  of 
free  passes.  I  am  not  surprised  that  the  gen- 
eral managers  and  attorneys  of  these  corpora- 
tions from  their  headquarters  should  employ 
and  use  these  corrupting  lobbyists.  I  am  not 
surprised  that  these  hired  lobbyists  themselves, 
being  adapted  by  nature  and  experience  for  the 
criminal  work,  in  which  they  are  engaged, 
should  be  willing  to  earn  a  livelihood  in  such 
infamous  business.  But  I  am  surprised  that 
self  respecting  and  intelligent  men,  such  as 
many  of  our  legislators  are,  should  permit 
themselves  to  be  approached  and  used  in  that 
way;  and  that  they,  knowing  the  criminal  pur- 
pose of  these  lobbyists  and  the  character  of 
the  men  who  are  employed  in  such  disreputable 
business,  should  be  willing,  not  only  to  meet 
these  men  and  associate  with  them  on  the  most 
friendly  and  intimate  terms,  but  thatf  they 
should  actually  seek  them  out  and  depend  upon 
them  for  suggestions  and  advice. 


60  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

If  the  self-respecting  people  could  see  the 
representatives  that  they  have  elected  and 
clothed  with  power  to  act  for  them  in  the  law- 
making body  waiting  in  the  hotel  corridors  at 
night  for  an  opportunity  to  meet,  for  just  a 
moment,  the  lobbyist  for  just  a  word  of  assur- 
ance from  him  that  they  would  not  be  over- 
looked in  the  make-up  of  the  committees,  the 
people  would  realize  how  close  the  corporations 
are  and  how  far  the  people  themselves  are  re- 
moved from  the  power  that  runs  their  state 
government. 

If  there  was  government  by  the  people,  the 
election  of  speaker  of  the  house  would  be  an 
important  matter.  The  speaker  is  charged 
with  the  duty  of  appointing  the  house  commit- 
tees. The  work  of  the  legislative  body  is  very 
largely  committee  work.  Honest  and  efficient 
committees  generally  mean  honest  and  efficient 
legislation.  The  committee  on  railroads,  for 
example,  can  push  forward  or  it  can  put  to  sleep 
a  bill  regulating  freight  rates.  The  committee 
on  corporations  in  general  can  assist  the  passage 
of  laws  looking  to  the  control  of  telephone  com- 
panies, telegraph  companies,  street  railways  and 
gas  companies,  or  it  can  delay  these  measures 
and  give  the  corporations  interested  time  and 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  61 

opportunity  to  procure  their  defeat.  Not  only 
do  the  railroads,  the  telegraph  companies,  the 
telephone  companies,  the  street  railway  com- 
panies and  the  gas  companies  depend  very 
largely  upon  what  they  are  able  to  do  with  these 
committees,  but  the  elevator  trust,  the  harvester 
trust,  and  the  corrupt  bridge  contractors  must 
depend  very  largely  upon  these  legislative  com- 
mittees for  whatever  protection  they  can  secure 
from  the  lawmaking  body. 

Under  a  government  by  the  people  the 
speaker  of  the  house,  if  he  were  a  strong  man 
and  an  honest  man,  could  appoint  strong  men 
and  honest  men  on  these  important  commit- 
tees. By  this  means  not  only  the  railroads,  but 
all  these  other  corporations  would  be  shut  out 
from  the  control  of  legislation  because  they 
would  not  be  able  to  reach  or  control  the  com- 
mittees. 

But  under  government  by  railroads  where 
the  speaker  is  picked  out  by  the  paid  lobbyists, 
he  is  an  unimportant  figurehead.  He  is  used 
to  preside  over  the  house  in  a  perfunctory  sort 
of  way,  to  give  out  misleading  interviews  to 
the  press  and  to  inaugurate  from  time  to  time 
such  grandstand  plays  as  are  necessary  to  hide 


62  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

from   the    public    the    real    power   behind   the 
throne. 

In  making  up  the  organization  of  the  legis-4 
lature,  the  real  work,  therefore,  of  the  paid  lob- 
byists consists  in  selecting  the  speaker  and  in 
making  up  the  committees.  The  lobbyists  want 
a  committee  on  railroads  that  is  absolutely 
"safe  and  sane."  They  want  a  committee  of 
men  who  have  been  tried  and  with  whom  they 
can  confer  in  the  most  confidential  way.  They 
want  men  who  are  not  only  friendly  to  the 
railroad  cause  in  a  general  way,  but  men  who 
are  actually  bound  to  the  railroad  corporations 
by  years  and  years  of  obligation  and  by  expect- 
ations for  the  future. 

The  lobbyists  in  secret  council  first  go  care- 
fully through  the  list  of  elected  members,  select- 
ing the  most  tried  and  true  for  places  on  the 
important  committees.  When  the  lobbyists 
have  agreed  upon  the  membership  of  these  im- 
portant committees  they  submit  their  commit- 
tee list  to  the  different  candidates  for  speaker. 
If  any  candidate  refuses  to  agree  absolutely 
that  he  will  name  these  men  on  these  commit- 
tees, he  is  at  once  designated  on  the  secret  list 
of  the  lobbyists  as  an  impossibility.  On  such 
candidates  as  agree  to  this  committee  list  the 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  68 


lobbyists  confer,  and  having  agreed  among 
themselves  who  shall  be  on  these  important 
committees,  and  which  candidate  shall  be  made 
speaker,  the  lobbyists,  coming  out  from  their 
secret  conference  separate  from  each  other,  and 
with  no  hints  of  their  secret  compact  to  any 
one  but  the  candidate  agreed  upon,  but  with 
apparent  hostility  to  each  other,  they  move 
among  the  members,  meeting  them  by  appoint- 
ment at  the  hotels,  whispering  with  them  in  the 
corridors  of  the  state  house,  here  and  there 
giving  tips  and  confidential  suggestions,  and  it 
i3  arranged  that  the  picked  candidate  will  win 
by  only  a  few  votes  so  that  neither  the  defeated 
candidates  nor  the  members  themselves  will 
realize  that  it  was  not  a  fair  race  or  how  it 
was  secretly  manipulated.  Railroad  govern- 
ment maintains  itself  through  the  free  pass 
conspiracy,  partly  by  the  direct  demands 
which  it  makes  on  the  free  pass  holders, 
but  very  largely  by  means  of  such  shrewd 
manipulation  of  the  men  against  each  other, 
that  the  pass  holders  themselves  are  all 
the  time  unconscious  of  the  conspiracy  against 
representative  government,  in  which  they  ere 
only  little  dumb  figures  on  the  corporation  chess 
board. 


5 J/.  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

PASS  BRIBERY  LEADS  TO  GRAFT. 

The  public  now  reads  in  the  daily  papers 
that  after  much  earnest  and  patriotic  consulta- 
tion among  the  members  the  two  branches  of 
the  lawmaking  body  of  the  state  are  at  last 
organized.  They  read  the  printed  speech  of 
the  Honorable  Speaker  as  he  took  the  chair. 
How  he  sounded  a  note  of  warning  to  the  mem- 
bers. They  must  keep  in  mind  that  they  are 
the  representatives  of  the  people.  They  must 
not  forget  that  economy  must  be  the  watchword 
of  the  session.  The  list  of  door-keepers  and 
custodians  must  be  cut  down  to  the  lowest  pos- 
sible limit.  Each  man  employed  in  such  ser- 
vice must  be  required  to  earn  every  cent  of 
every  dollar  that  he  gets  from  the  state. 

<:  What  is  this  flourish  about  economy  and 
this  grandstand  play  of  the  speaker,  aimed  at 
these  half  dozen  humble  door-keepers  and  cus- 
todians, intended  for  ?  It  is  intended  to  fool 
the  public.     It  is  intended  to  hide  the  railroad 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  65 

conspiracy  which  is  behind  the  speaker  and 
every  important  committee  and  official.  These 
misleading  utterances  of  the  speaker  will  be 
carried  away  by  the  public  press  to  the  people 
all  over  the  state.  The  people  reading  of  this 
petty  economy  that  is  to  be  practiced  on  the 
half  dozen  door-keepers  and  custodians  will 
forget  the  millions  of  which  the  railroads 
plunder  Nebraska  people  annually  through  tax 
dodging  and  freight  rate  extortion. 

"Let  us  cut  down  the  list  of  door-keepers 
and  custodians,"  shouted  Speaker  Rouse  at  the 
opening  of  the  last  Nebraska  legislature.  But 
the  Honorable  Speaker  said  nothing  about  the 
millions  of  bushels  of  corn  of  the  1904  crop, 
that  was  waiting  to  be  shipped  over  Nebraska 
railroads,  with  an  average  extortion  in  freight 
rates  of  five  cents  on  every  bushel. 

Both  branches  of  the  legislature  now  being 
organized,  and  the  flourish  about  economy  in 
the  wages  of  the  half  dozen  unoffending  door- 
keepers and  custodians  having  been  sent  out  to 
the  people  through  the  newspapers,  we  may 
now  take  a  look  at  the  members  as  they  make 
a  grand  rush  to  the  auditor's  office  to  get  their 

names  on  the  mileage  list. 


66  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

Here  is  a  little  matter  of  legislative  graft 
that  is  worth  looking  into  in  connection  with 
the  free  pass.  Thirty  years  ago  when  the  con- 
stitution was  made,  and  when  travel  was  ex- 
pensive to  members  who  were  compelled  to 
travel  a  part  of  the  distance  between  their 
homes  and  the  state  capitol  by  team,  the  mak- 
ers of  the  constitution,  with  this  expensive 
travel  in  mind,  and  with  the  thought  that  the 
official  oath  which  they  provided  would  pre- 
clude the  use  of  free  railroad  transportation, 
provided  for  a  mileage  allowance  of  ten  cents 
each  way  on  every  mile  that  the  member  must 
travel  to  go  to  the  legislature  and  return  to  his 
home.  This  ample  allowance  for  travel  fare 
13,  it  seems  to  me,  of  itself  alone  sufficient 
evidence  to  prove  to  the  member  that  he  haa 
no  right  to  use  free  transportation.  But  if  the 
member  could  silence  his  conscience  while  he 
took  the  oath  with  the  "valuable  thing"  in  his 
pocket,  still  when  he  now  comes  to  reach  out 
his  hand  for  the  travel  money,  which  was  pro- 
vided for  in  the  constitution  for  travel  expenses 
and  for  no  other  purpose,  he  ought  now,  in  all 
fairness,  refuse  the  money  which  is  intended 
to  pay  for  the  ride. 
The  law  appropriates  this  travel  money  for 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  67 


traveling  expenses  and  for  no  other  purpose. 
The  state  is  intending  by  the  appropriation  of 
this  mileage  money  to  reimburse  the  official 
for  the  expense  he  is  put  to  for  railroad  fare 
in  reaching  the  state  capitol  and  returning 
home.  If  he  has  used  a  free  railroad  pass  and 
has  paid  no  money,  then  he  is  entitled  to  no 
reimbursement.  And  how  can  he  now  take 
this  oath  and  swear  that  he  is  entitled  to  the 
mileage  money? 

In  all  human  honesty  there  is  much  of 
habit  and  example.  The  man  does  without 
compunction  today  the  thing  that  strained  his 
conscience  yesterday. 

Dishonesty  in  the  character  of  a  man,  like 
leprosy,  starts  at  the  first  as  a  small  speck, 
but  by  the  force  of  habit  and  example  it 
spreads  out  and  grows  into  festering  rotten- 
ness that  at  the  last  makes  him  what  we  call 
"unclean." 

When  the  legislative  member  before  he  was 
nominated  in  his  home  county  accepted  the  first 
free  pass  from  the  traveling  superintendent, 
right  in  the  act  of  taking  the  free  pass,  know- 
ing that  he  was  about  to  enter  the  service  of 
the  state,  and  that  between  the  state  and  the 
railroad  corporations  was  a  contention  over  the 


68  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

question  of  freight  rates  and  of  railroad  taxes 
upon  which  he  as  a  lawmaker  must  sit  in 
judgment,  right  at  this  point  where  the  legisla- 
tive candidate  accepted  from  the  traveling 
superintendent  the  first  free  pass,  the  candidate 
entered  into  and  connected  himself  with  the 
free  pass  conspiracy. 

Whether  he  was  conscious  of  it  or  not,  the 
taking  of  the  free  pass  made  him  a  part  of 
the  conspiracy  against  representative  govern- 
ment. When  he  stood  in  his  place  among  the 
other  officials  at  the  state  house  and  swore  to 
the  constitutional  oath  that  lie  had  not  received 
from  any  corporation  "any  valuable  thing," 
did  he  not  as  a  matter  of  fact  commit;  perjury  ? 
And  now  it  is  easy  for  him  with  these  crooked 
steps  behind  him  already  taken,  with  the  in- 
fluence of  example  all  around  him,  with  a  pre- 
cedent of  fifteen  legislative  sessions  to  justify 
him,  it  is  easy  now  for  him  to  reach  out  for 
this  twenty  cents  per  mile,  and  to  swear  with 
uplifted  hand  that  he  is  entitled  to  it. 

With  no  precedent  for  free  passes  the  mem- 
bers of  the  last  Nebraska  legislature  would  not 
have  dared  to  touch  them.  With  no  precedent 
for  the  manipulation  of  the  legislature  by  the 
railroad  lobbyist,  the  lobbyist  would  have  been 


TJie  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  69 


spurned  by  the  assembly  and  would  have  been 
promptly  kicked  out  as  an  offender  against  de- 
cency and  as  an  intruder  on  sacred  ground. 
"With  no  free  passes  and  with  such  conditions, 
each  member  having  paid  for  his  ride  to  the 
state  capitol  as  the  constitution  contemplated, 
this  mileage  would  not  be,  as  it  is  now,  an  un- 
lawful perquisite  which  can  be  obtained  only 
through  false  swearing,  but  would  be  an  honest 
reimbursement  from  the  state  to  an  honest 
official  whose  service  the  state  had  engaged  and 
whose  traveling  expenses  the  state  was  bound 
both  in  honor  and  in  law  to  pay.  But  with 
this  mileage  money  in  his  pocket,  the  record 
of  the  legislative  member  now  stands,  first  a 
free  pass  conspirator,  second,  a  perjurer,  and 
third,  a  grafter. 

For  thirty  years  our  legislators  have  been 
taking  this  mileage  money  with  the  free  rail- 
road passes  in  their  pockets.  What  is  this  but 
graft?  To  what  does  the  term  graft  apply  if 
not  to  this  kind  of  business?  And  T  am  not 
king  now  of  the  graft  of  an  individual 
here  and  there,  but  of  universal  graft  which 
is  and  has  been  practiced  by  practically  all  the 
members  of  every  legislature  with  the  excep- 
tion of  one  session.     For  has  this  practice  of 


10  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

drawing  mileage  money  from  the  state  for 
railroad  fare,  where  no  money  was  paid  by 
the  official,  been  confined  to  members  of  the 
legislature.  The  state  auditor's  record  and  the 
treasurer's  record  is  rotten  for  thirty  years 
back  with  the  history  of  this  fraudulent  taking 
of  public  money  by  officials  in  every  depart- 
ment of  the  state  government.  And  do  I  over- 
state the  case  when  I  say  that  every  dollar  thus 
taken  is  tainted  with  perjury  ?  And  not  only 
has  this  grafting  system  of  taking  money  for 
railroad  travel,  where  no  money  was  paid  out, 
been  practiced  very  generally  by  legislators  and 
all  state  officials,  but  by  county  and  city  officials 
as  well. 

The  record  would  smell  to  heaven  if  it  could 
be  compiled  and  published  of  the  men — the 
trusted  officials  and  guardians  of  the  public 
honor — who  have  practiced  this  fraud,  led  into 
it,  seduced  into  it, — by  what  ?  By  The  Free 
Pass  System. 

I  am  trying  to  show  now  by  this  hastily 
prepared  volume  what  I  have  always  believed, 
and  what  I  said  to  the  Nebraska  people  in  the 
last  campaign,  that  The  Free  Pass  System,  not 
only  procures  railroad  control  over  government 
and  lawmaking,  but  that  the  system,  by  the  very 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  71 

nature  of  itself,  is  linked  with  perjury  and 
graft,  and  that  the  power  of  representative  gov- 
ernment will  grow  less  and  less,  and  the  gen- 
eral standard  of  honesty,  among  public  officials 
will  sink  lower  and  lower,  until  The  Free  Pass 
System  is  abolished  by  law. 

Now  if  anyone  of  these  of  our  Nebraska 
officials,  who  have  taken  and  appropriated  to 
their  own  use  this  mileage  money  while  they 
were  traveling  on  free  passes,  charges  me  with 
over-stating  the  case  when  I  call  this  practice 
graft,  let  me  ask  such  a  man  how  public  money 
can  be  obtained  lawfully  by  an  individual  ? 
Here  is  the  state  treasury,  and  there  in  the 
vault  is  the  state  money.  It  is  the  state's  pocket 
money.  This  money  is  gathered  from  the  peo- 
ple through  taxation  and  deposited  there  in  the 
vault  in  charge  of  the  state's  treasurer  to  be 
used  by  him  for  the  payment  of  the  expenses 
of  the  state  government.  The  law  provides  that 
not  si  dollar  of  this  money  can  be  paid  out  by 
the  treasurer  until  there  has  been  an  act  of  the 
legislature  authorizing  the  payment.  And  no 
money  can  be  paid  lawfully  except  for  the 
specific  purpose  for  which  it  was  appropriated. 
For  example,  if  the  legislature  has  appropriated 
a  certain  sum  for  the  state  penitentiary,  not  a 


12  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


dollar  of  this  can  be  used  for  the  maintenance 
of  the  insane  hospital  at  Lincoln,  a  few  rods 
away.  If  money  is  appropriated  for  the  in- 
dustrial school  at  Kearney,  no  part  of  that 
money  can  be  used  for  the  other  industrial 
school  at  Geneva,  or  for  the  state  farm  or  the 
university.  So,  also,  when  the  state  designates 
certain  money  and  sets  it  aside  to  reimburse 
public  officials  for  railroad  fare  which  they  are 
sirpposed  to  have  paid  out,  this  is  travel  money, 
and  if  the  official  has  traveled  free,  then  he 
has  no  account  for  travel  against  the  state,  and 
if  he  takes  this  travel  money  and  uses  it  to 
pay  his  board  bill,  is  he  not  using  it  for  pur- 
poses other  than  that  for  which  it  was  intended 
and  appropriated  ? 

The  fact  that  this  mileage  allowance  is  based 
on  the  number  of  miles  that  the  official  must 
travel  shows  that  the  constitution  intends  it  as 
a  reimbursement.  If  the  member  has  paid  out 
no  money  for  his  railroad  travel,  he  is  entitled 
to  no  reimbursement. 

But  if  the  official  using  the  free  pass  in- 
sists that  he  is  entitled  to  this  reimbursement 
money,  notwithstanding  he  paid  out  no  money; 
that  the  pass  which  he  used  was  his  own  in- 
dividual property  and  was  given  to  him  as  an 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  78 


individual,  and  that  the  state  has  no  right  to 
claim  the  money  saved  by  him  in  the  use  of  the 
pass,  then  he  admits  that  he  used  the  pass  in 
lieu  of  money  which  he  would  have  otherwise 
expended.  In  that  case  the  pass  has  a  money 
value  to  him,  and  is  a  "valuable  thing."  Eight 
here  he  is  caught  in  the  clutches  of  the  oath 
wherein  he  has  sworn  that  he  has  "received  no 
valuable  thing  from  any  corporation." 

At  the  risk  of  being  tedious  I  have  tried  to 
analyze  the  official  oath  in  detail,  and  this 
mileage  graft,  in  order  to  show  that  The  Free 
Pass  System,  like  a  signboard,  points  the  offi- 
cial away  from  his  path  of  duty  right  from  the 
very  beginning  of  his  career  and  starts  him  on 
the  road  to  perjury  and  graft. 

What  is  the  constitution  worth,  and  what 
is  the  official  oath  worth  which  it  prescribes, 
unless  it  protects  the  public  treasury  and  the 
public  service?  What  is  the  law  good  for  if 
it  does  not  control  the  officials  elected  to  serve 
the  public  under  the  law  %  What  kind  of  a 
lawmaker  is  he  who  enters  upon  his  service 
by  committing  perjury  and  graft  at  the  very 
beginning  of  his  term  ?  And  if  men  are  led  into 
these  things  through  The  Free  Pass  System, 
why    not    destroy    the    system  ?     If    the    pass 


7.f  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


holders  at  the  county  seat  can  pick  out  weak 
and  untrue  men  for  public  office,  and  procure 
their  nominations  without  the  people  knowing 
how  it  is  done  or  without  them  seeing  the  hairy 
hand  of  Esau  that  is  behind  the  game,  why  not 
leave  the  county  seat  pass  holders  out  of  the 
county  conventions  and  the  state  conventions, 
and  why  not  make  this  treacherous  pass  holding 
a  test  that  will  drive  railroad  influence  out  of 
our  politics  and  out  of  our  public  affairs  ? 

If,  as  now,  the  traveling  superintendent  and 
lobbyist  can  go  out  into  the  legislative  districts 
during  the  campaigns,  and  by  means  of  free 
pass  favors  get  a  string  on  the  lawmakers  by 
which  he  can  lead  them  around  like  blind  pigs, 
why  not  put  the  paid  lobbyist  out  of  business 
by  making  his  business  criminal  in  law  as 
well  as  in  fact  ?  If  this  Free  Pass  Bribery  Sys- 
tem, with  all  the  perjury,  graft  and  disregard 
for  official  honor  that  grows  into  and  goes  along 
with  it,  is  allowed  to  continue,  it  will  be  only 
a  matter  of  time  when  our  state  government 
and  our  whole  system  of  public  affairs  will  ba 
as  corrupt  as  the  government  of  St.  Louis  was 
before  the  anti-bribe  crusade  was  started  there. 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  75 


Vi.lili    i  .kit     ^x. 

THE   FREE   PASS   SYSTEM   LEADS   TO   DOUBLE- 
DEALING    IN    POLITICS. 

Now  if  I  have  already  made  it  clear  to 
the  reader  how  railroad  influence  gets  a  hold 
on  the  lawmaking  body,  by  picking  our  legisla- 
tive candidates  and  procuring  their  nomina- 
tions through  the  influence  of  the  local  free 
pass  holders  in  each  legislative  district,  how  the 
traveling  superintendent  gets  a  personal  pull 
on  each  individual  member  before  he  ever 
reaches  the  state  house,  and  how  the  lobbyists, 
working  in  secret  harmony,  are  able  to  organize 
the  legislative  body  so  as  to  control  the  im- 
portant committees  as  well  as  the  officers,  and 
how  the  conscience  of  the  individual  member 
becomes  familiar  with  false  swearing  and  graft 
at  the  very  commencment  of  the  legislative 
term,  let  me  now  show  how  this  crooked  begin- 
ning progresses  into  a  general  system  of  crook- 
edness and  double  dealing  which  runs  through 
and  characterizes  the  legislative  work  from  be- 
ginning to  end. 


76  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


The  individual  member  having  discovered 
that  the  oath  which  lie  took,  "while  the  "valuable 
thing"  was  in  his  pockets,  was  a  crooked  oath; 
that  the  taking  of  the  mileage  money,  "which 
he  has  never  paid  out,  "was  a  crooked  transac- 
tion; that  the  organization  of  the  legislative 
bcdy,  through  the  manipulation  of  the  lobbyists, 
was  a  crooked  business  from  beginning  to  end, 
he  begins  to  believe  that  lawmaking  is  a  crooked 
game,  and  that  whoever  wins  a  point  must  play 
the  game  in  a  crooked  way.  The  member  has 
promised  his  constituents  that  he  will  secure 
some  special  legislation  or  appropriation  in  the 
interest  of  some  state  institution  in  his  county. 
Whatever  he  does  as  a  representative  he  must. 
keep  this  promise  with  his  constituents.  He 
begins  to  realize  now  that  the  tendency  toward 
graft  is  not  confined  to  officials  alone,  but  that 
whole  communities  of  people  are  sometimes 
ready  and  anxious  to  be  bribed  into  silence, 
to  consent  and  to  kneel  dowm  to  railroad  in- 
fluence, if  only  their  particular  locality  is 
remembered  in  the  distribution  of  spoils.  ,  To 
secure  his  particular  appropriation  or  measure, 
the  member  sees  that  he  must  get  into  the 
railroad  band  wagon.  Coming  as  he  does  from 
nmong  the  people,  and  having  heard  their  com- 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  77 

plaints,  he  is  conscious  of  many  things  that 
ought  to  be  done  for  the  general  public.  But 
this  particular  thing  must  be  done  for  his  home 
people,  or  he  will  lose  standing  with  them,  and 
that  means  a  failure  of  his  political  career.  To 
lift  the  heavy  burden  of  high  rate  extortion 
from  the  backs  of  the  whole  people  and  to 
strike  down  railroad  control  by  striking  down 
The  Free  Pass  System,  these  are  broad  issues 
that  effect  the  people  of  the  whole  state,  and  in 
importance  overshadow  all  other  pending  ques- 
tions. But  these  things  he  dare  not  touch.v.  The 
railroads  are  in  control.  The  lobbyists  can  de- 
feat his  local  measure.  They  can  dwarf  his 
special  appropriation.  Look  whatever  way  ho 
will,  railroad  power  confronts  him  at  every 
point.  If  with  this  view  of  his  environments 
he  becomes  restive,  and  if  his  better  manhood 
prompts  him  to  strike  out  boldly  on  independent 
lines,  what  can  he  do? 

Let  him  now  make  one  threatening  move ! 
How  quickly  the  free  pass  holders  of  his  home 
county  are  hurried  to  the  state  house  and  are 
get  to  whispering  in  his  ear!  They  tell  him 
his  course  is  unpopular  with  "the  boys"  at 
home.  "The  boys"  are  the  free  pass  holders 
of  the  county  ring.     They  make  things  happen 


78  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

iv.  local  politics.  A  threat  from  "the  boys" 
makes  a  coward  of  the  official. 

Railroad  control  of  politics  and  government 
makes  cowards,  perjurers  and  grafters  of  all 
legislators  and  all  public  officials  who  thrive 
under  it. 

If  I  could,  I  would  write  this  on  the  sky. 
I  would  write  it  so  plain  and  so  bold  that  no 
pass-bribed  conspirator  in  the  state  of  Ne- 
braska could  look  upward  without  reading  the 
condemnation  of  his  guilty  business.  I  would 
print  it  in  all  the  newspapers.  I  would  pla- 
card it  on  every  wall.  I  would  publish  it  over 
and  over  again  and  cry  it  out  from  every 
rostrum  until  the  Nebraska  people,  deprived 
of  self-government,  plundered  by  railroad  ex- 
tortion on  everything  that  they  eat,  on  every- 
thing that  they  wear,  on  every  article  of  furni- 
ture in  their  homes,  on  every  commodity  that 
they  handle  in  business,  would  come  to  realize 
that  a  pass  bribery  system  which  reaches  into 
every  community  of  the  state  will  at  the  last,  if 
allowed  to  continue,  rot  the  moral  fibre  of  the 
whole  public  conscience  just  as  the  money  brib- 
ing system^  so  long  and  so  boldly  practiced  in 
Rhode  Island,  has  at  last  drawn  into  its  slimy 
net  nearly  the  whole  population  of  that  state. 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  79 

When  predatory  wealth  came  to  realize,  as 
i<:  did  some  years  ago,  that  to  maintain  its 
power  over  the  government  at  Washington,  it 
must  control  the  United  States  senate,  it  looked 
down  on  the  little  state  of  Rhode  Island  and 
said  to  itself,  "I'll  just  buy  that  state."  And 
it  did.  At  first  it  limited  its  purchase  to  ths 
officials  after  they  had  been  elected.  At  this 
the  politicians  complained  and  threatened  polit- 
ical revolt.  Then  the  bribing  system  was  ex- 
tended so  as  to  include  the  politicians  who 
were  taken  into  the  bribe  conspiracy  and  paid 
in  money  for  their  services  as  convention 
organizers.  Then  the  people  complained  that 
they  were  being  discriminated  against  and 
threatened  defeat  of  the  dominant  party  at  the 
polls.  Little  by  little  the  bribery  net  was  spread 
out  until  it  caught  the  individual  voters  in 
every  part  of  the  state,  so  that,  in  some  of  the 
recent  elections,  the  citizens  have  refused  to 
go  to  the  polls  at  all  on  election  day,  or  to  vote 
even  for  their  own  party  candidates,  without 
a  cash  payment  in  advance  "for  their  time." 

If  tfce  picture  of  Rhode  Island,  as  drawn  by 
prominent  magazine  writers  is  a  true  one,  and 
up  to  this  time  no  denial  has  been  made,  that 
state  is  in  a  deplorable  condition  of  universal 


80  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


corruption,  brought  about  by  the  seductive  in- 
fluence of  a  wholesale  bribery  system.  It  is 
stated  that  the  money  paid  to  the  individual 
voters  of  that  state  in  a  single  election  amounts 
to  twenty  dollars  for  every  vote  cast.  Shame 
on  us  that  we  sit  silently  by  while  these  intol- 
erable conditions  are  about  us.  No  man  is 
worthy  the  name  of  an  American  citizen  who 
will  not  rise  up  regardless  of  party  affiliations, 
and  join  in  a  movement  to  help  strike  down, 
not  only  the  Free  Pass  Bribery  System,  but 
all  other  forms  of  bribery  and  double  dealing 
in  politics. 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  81 


CHAPTER  XL 

STATE      INSTITUTIONS      IN      GRIP      OF      PASS 
BRI3ERY   SYSTEM. 

With  the  commencement  of  the  legislative 
business,  the  various  wheels  and  levers  of  the 
great  railroad  lawmaking  machine  begin  to 
move.  The  power  house  of  this  railroad  ma- 
chine is  in  Omaha.  The  general  management 
of  this  machine  is  in  the  hands  of  a  powerful 
political  boss,  one  who  knows  the  machine  and 
how  to  use  it.  'He  is  altogether  the  ablest 
and  most  experienced  political  manager  in  the 
entire  state.  As  a  railroad  manager  and  money 
maker  for  his  corporation,  I  believe  he  ranks 
as  one  of  the  foremost  in  the  entire  country. 
As  a  political  organizer  he  is  equally  able. 

He  possesses  that  rare  skill  of  being  able 
to  exercise  the  functions  of  a  political  boss 
without  making  his  personality  offensive  to 
those  he  dominates.  He  is  able  to  suggest  to 
the  free  pass  holders  what  he  wants  to  have 
them  do  in  such  a  way  that  many  of  them  are 
unconscious  of  the  control  being  exerted  ovea 


82  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

i 
them.     But  the  real  power  of  this  boss  is  in  the 

bribing  effeot  of  the  free  pass  machine  which 
he  controls.  The  consideration  that  is  going 
out  with  every  mail  from  Omaha  in  the  form 
of  free  passes  to  thousands  of  men  in  this  state, 
and  the  binding  effect  of  this  bribing  system 
to  hold  these  men,  to  subdue  their  personalities 
and  to  harness  their  energies  into  a  groat  po- 
litical force,  this  is  the  power  the  boss  wields 
and  before  which  the  power  of  representative 
government  is  made  to  yield. 

A  part  of  the  business  of  a  great  political 
boss  is  to  know  men  and  how  to  handle  them. 
But  the  more  important  thing  is  to  know  iiow 
to  create  local  issues  among  the  people,  and  to 
so  manipulate  these  issues,  one  against  the 
other,  as  to  get  and  to  hold  the  one  particular 
thing  desired, — railroad  control  over  lawmak- 
ing and  government.  Always  it  is  the  central 
purpose  of  the  railroad  boss  to  prevent  rate 
reduction  by  law. 

Thi3  political  boss,  assisted  by  able  officials 
of  the  various  railroads  centered  at  Omaha, 
invented  many  years  ago  the  scheme  of  locating 
the  state  institutions  out  over  the  state  in  such 
a  manner,  as  to  use  the  localities  in  which  these 
institutions  are  located,  as  political  strongholds 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  83 

for  railroad  influence.  With  the  headquarters 
of  railroad  control  located  at  Omaha,  and  with 
the  state  institutions  at  Lincoln,  Omaha, 
Beatrice,  Peru,  Kearney,  Hastings,  Norfolk, 
Geneva,  Grand  Island  and  Nebraska  City,  it  is 
easy  to  organize  these  strategic  points  into  a 
compact  founded  on  the  selfish  purpose  of 
mutual  advantage. 

Through  the  free  pass  holders,  and  such 
newspapers  as  they  are  able  to  influence,  the 
people  of  these  thickly  populated  localities  are 
mesmerized  into  the  notion  that  the  business 
success  and  property  value,  in  each  of  these 
localities,  depend  largely  on  the  state  institu- 
tions, and  that  the  heavy  appropriations  of  state 
money  depend  largely  on  railroad  influence. 
By  the  invention  of  this  plan  these  powerful 
communities,  even  without  their  knowledge  and 
consent,  are  taken  into  the  railroad  conspiracy 
and  made  to  play  an  important  part  in  railroad 
government  of  the  state. 

If  any  business  man  or  farmer  in  any  one 
of  these  localities  should  complain  of  extortion- 
ate freight  rates,  and  should  threaten  to  carry 
ais  complaint  into  the  county  convention,  where 
legislative  members  are  to  be  nominated,  he 
would   be   instantly   silenced,   or  his   influence 


8J+  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

overcome  by  tlie  suggestion  that  such  agitation 
hurts  the  state  institution  out  there  a  mile  or 
two  from  town.  And  to  hurt  the  state  institu- 
tion is  to  hurt  the  town.  By  this  use  of  local 
pride  and  local  selfishness,  anti-raliroad  discus- 
sion is  made  unpopular.  The  result  is  that 
these  large  communities  are  intimidated  from 
year  to  year,  and  it  is  easy  for  the  railroad 
influence  to  get  from  such  localities  a  corps  of 
willing  tools  for  the  legislature.  Omaha  being 
the  business  headquarters  of  the  Nebraska  rail- 
roads, its  fifteen  votes  in  the  legislature  are 
sure  to  be  under  railroad  control,  on  the  theory 
that  Omaha  cannot  afford  to  antagonize  the 
railroads.  The  city  of  Lincoln,  in  control  of 
the  seven  legislative  votes  of  Lancaster  County, 
is  also  constantly  hypnotized  by  its  fear  of  rail- 
road power.  Here  in  these  two  counties  the 
railroad  political  machine  has  twenty-two  legis- 
lative votes,  !Now  add  the  members  that  come 
fiom  these  other  localities,  whore  state  institu- 
tions are  located  and  where  the  business  men 
and  the  freight  payers  walk  in  gum  shoes  from 
year  to  year,  in  the  fear  that  they  will  think 
something,  or  say  something,  or  vote  for  some- 
thing, that  will  hurt  their  particular  state  insti- 
tution,   and    yon    have    forty    legislative    votes 


The  Free  Fass  Bribery  System.  85 

which  the  railroad  lobbyist  can  carry  in  his 
vest  pocket  as  trading  capital. 

With  these  forty  votes  and  the  powerful 
influences  that  they  represent,  the  railroads 
have  a  legislative  band  wagon  right  from  the 
very  start.  There  are  generally  other  local 
issues,  of  course,  but  these  forty  votes  and  the 
certainty  that  they  will  stand  together  under 
railroad  control,  and  that  they  can  be  handled 
by  the  lobbyists  for  or  against  any  measure, 
makes  them  a  magnetic  center  to  which  every 
other  interest  is  at  once  attracted. 

Lawmaking  under  the  railroad  plan  is 
largely  a  matter  of  combining  diverse  interests 
and  playing  one  part  of  the  state  against  the 
other.  This  playing  of  one  interest  against 
the  other  is  a  species  of  combined  "hold-up" 
and  bribery  in  itself.  But  it  is  so  subtle  in 
its  operation,  and  has  been  so  long  practiced, 
that  the  people  who  are  used  by  it,  and  who 
consent  to  it,  do  not  realize  what  a  powerful 
lever  it  is  in  the  hands  of  the  corporations,  or 
what  a  swift  and  dangerous  tendency  there  is 
in  it  toward  centralization  of  political  control. 

It  seems  to  me  that  the  people  of  Nebraska 
might  well  afford  to  try  the  experiment  for  the 
next  two  years  of  choosing  legislative  members 


86  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

and  state  officers  without  the  intervention  of  the 
free  pass  holders.  The  people  of  all  parties 
could  hold  a  series  of  conventions  in  which  no 
free  pass  holders  are  allowed  and  in  which  the 
sentiment  against  The  Free  Pass  System  would 
be  so  emphasized  and  so  emphatically  expressed 
that  no  pass  holder  could  be  nominated  for  any 
office.  With  a  legislature  and  state  govern- 
ment so  organized,  is  there  any  danger  of  any 
state  institution  or  any  particular  locality,  be- 
ing unjustly  treated?  There  is  certainly  suffi- 
cient integrity  in  the  people,  as  a  whole,  to  abso- 
lutely insure  clean  government  and  just  laws, 
if  we  can  eliminate  the  corporation  influence 
and  so  re-adjust  the  political  situation  in  the 
slate  that  railroad  will  will  be  set  aside  and  the 
public  will  set  up  as  the  governing  power. 

The  hypnotic  fear  of  railroad  power  causes 
these  state  institutions  to  huddle  together  just 
as  political  candidates  huddle  around  the  rail- 
road bosses,  each  one  afraid  to  stand  on  high 
ground  and  fight  out  his  own  battle  on  its 
merits.  The  argument  used  by  the  free  pass 
holders  of  each  separate  community,  that  they 
must  go  in  with  the  railroad  influence  or  suffer 
loss  of  political  prestige  and  public  appropria- 
tions, is  a  false  argument  that  ought  never  to 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  87 

be  listened  to  by  any  intelligent  community  of 
people.  Neither  should  the  bait  with  which 
these  communities  have  been  entrapped  into 
railroad  control,  be  allowed  to  work  its  demor- 
alizing and  bribing  purpose.  Of  all  the  false 
and  misleading  doctrines  that  have  been  taught 
the  Nebraska  people,  by  the  pass  holding  guar- 
dians of  public  sentiment,  none  have  been  more 
false  or  mischievous  in  their  effect  than  the 
doctrine  that  railroad  control  of  politics  is 
necessary  to  protect  the  business  interests. 

*~It  will  be  well  for  the  people,  where  these 
state  institutions  are  located,  and  well  for  the 
institutions  themselves,  when  the  people  come 
to  understand  fully  the  plan  of  organizing  these 
communities  into  outposts  and  strongholds  of 
railroad  influence.  This  plan  was  inaugurated 
by  the  railroads  years  ago  and  has  been  suc- 
cessfully worked  to  the  present  time. 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE    FREE    PASS    SYSTEM    IS    A    CONSPIRACY. 

It  is  the  policy  of  the  railroads  to  organize, 
not  only  the  various  state  institutions  and  their 
influence,  but  the  whole  official  force  of  the  state 
government,  into  a  controlling  power  around  the 
legislature.  The  relation  between  the  railroads 
and  the  state  officers  is  generally  a  close  one 
and  of  long  standing.  Railroad  control  of  state 
officials  is  generally  secure.  But  in  each  legis- 
lature are  many  new  men  around  whom  rail- 
road control  is  not  completely  established.  In 
order  that  there  may  be  no  mishap  by  which 
any  group  of  these  new  members  may  organize 
themselves  into  an  anti-railroad  force,  the  in- 
fluence of  the  state  officials,  and  of  hundreds  of 
influential  politicians  and  free  pass  holders 
from  every  part  of  the  state,  is  organized  under 
the  direction  of  the  lobbyists,  as  a  sort  of  "old 
guard"  by  which  new  members  are  held  in 
check',  until  they  have  demonstrated  their 
worthiness  of  railroad  confidence. 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  89 


We  must  therefore  think  of  the  lawmaking 
body  as  not  limited  to  the  hundred  and  thirty- 
three  men  who  compose  both  houses. 

Generally  the  larger  proportion  of  these 
legislative  members  have  very  little  to  do  with 
the  passing  of  laws,  except  to  cast  their  vote, 
an  act  generally  done  under  the  direction  of 
some  lobbyist  or  some  state  official.  In  many 
cases  the  individual  member  acts,  through  the 
entire  session,  under  the  direction  of  some  tried 
and  true  pass  holder  from  his  home  community. 

When  a  member  begins  to  wobble  on  any 
proposition  in  which  the  railroads  are  inter- 
ested, there  is  always  an  old-time  pass  holder 
in  his  home  county,  who  can  be  wired  to  and 
Vvho  is  sure  to  come  hurrying  on  the  first  train, 
with  a  plausible  story  that  the  home  people 
want  the  member  to  do  so  and  so. 

This  coming  and  going  of  the  old-time  pass 
holders  is  a  part  of  the  scene  at  the  state  house 
during  every  legislative  session.  When  mat- 
ters of  special  importance,  such  as  the  election 
of  United  States  senator,  or  the  pending  of  im- 
portant railroad  bills  are  up  for  consideration, 
then  the  army  of  free  pass  holders  is  marshalled 
in  full  force.  At  such  times  the  seat  of  rail- 
road   government    is    temporarily    transferred 


90  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

from  Omaha  to  the  State  Capitol.  Riding  in 
sumptuous  private  cars  come  the  pompous  polit- 
ical state  bosses  from  Omaha  to  Lincoln.  Each 
is  attended  by  a  retinue  of  subordinates,  pass 
clerks,  stenographers,  officeworkers,  all  around 
handy  young  men,  quick  to  comprehend,  and 
faithful  to  execute  every  command  of  the  boss. 
Here  is  a  rate  bill  pending.  If  allowed  to 
become  a  law,  it  will  save  the  people  of  Ne- 
braska, or  if  defeated,  will  save  to  the  rail- 
roads many  millions  of  dollars.  It  is  a  prize 
worth  contending  for.  If  the  people  knew,  as 
the  railroad  attorneys  do,  that  the  winning  of 
this  fight  meant  millions  anm%ally  to  them,  they 
would  rally  to  the  state  house  by  the  thousands 
and  force  their  representatives  into  action*  But 
the  people  do  not  know.  They  see  this  whole 
railroad  question  as  through  a  glass  darkly. 
Each  individual  shipper  knows  that  there  is 
extortion  on  every  railroad  shipment  to  or  from 
his  place  of  business.  Each  farmer  knows  that 
his  grain  brings  an  average  of  five  cents  a  bushel 
less  than  it  ought  to  bring  him  at  the  shipping 
point.  But  the  whole  public  does  not  realize 
that  the  aggregate  of  these  extortions  amounts 
to  a  direct  annual  tax  against  the  producers  and 
consumers  of  the  state  of  tea  to  fifteen  dollars 
per  capita  annually. 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  91 

The  people  read  with,  perhaps,  more  curi- 
osity than  anger  of  the  twenty  Wall  Street  mil- 
lionaires, who  a  year  or  two  ago  made  a  spect- 
acle of  themselves  by  parading  before  London 
in  a  special  millionaire's  yacht  up  and  down  the 
Thames  River.  But  they  did  not  fully  realize 
that  a  large  portion  of  the  millions  represented 
by  these  strutting  plutocrats  was  made  through 
extortion  on  Nebraska  grain.  But  if  the  people 
are  asleep,  the  corporations  are  not.  The  tire- 
less energy  with  which  these  high  salaried  rail- 
road attorneys  from  Omaha  now  assume  direc- 
tion over  the  army  of  free  pass  holders  at  Lin- 
coln, shows  how  fully  they  comprehend  the 
money  that  is  at  stake  in  the  pending  rate  bill. 
The  "eleventh  floorers,"  so  called  because  they 
occupied  the  whole  of  the  eleventh  floor  of  one 
of  the  large  offi.ce  buildings  in  Milwaukee,  em- 
ployed scores  of  experts  and  spent  $100,000 
in  a  year  of  effort  to  defeat  the  nomination  of 
La  Follette  for  governor  in  Wisconsin.  The 
corporations  that  maintained  the  eleventh  floor 
organization  understood  what  the  defeat  of  La 
Follette  meant.  The  hundred  thousand  spent 
on  the  political  experts  was  mere  pin  money 
to  the  tax  shirking  and  freight  robbing  railroads 
of  Wisconsin.      It  is  a  small  matter  for  the 


92  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


corporations,  who  are  able  to  steal  ten  or  fifeen 
millions  by  extortion  on  freight  rates  and  tax 
shirking,  to  spend  a  few  thousand  in  a  state 
campaign  and  a  few  thousand  more  in  the 
manipulation  of  a  legislature. 

Government  by  railroads  is  a  conspiracy. 
Every  conspiracy  is  more  or  less  suspicious  of 
it.5  own  members.  It  is  a  part  of  the  business 
of  every  conspiracy  to  watch  every  man,  friend 
and  foe  alike.  In  every  conspiracy  to  control 
government  there  are  weak  men  who  are  con- 
tinually in  a  halting  attitude.  They  are  afraid 
on  the  one  hand  of  the  power  of  the  conspiracy, 
and  on  the  other  hand  afraid  of  the  people.  As 
these  halting  members  move  about,  the  vigilant 
railroad  spies  note  their  coming  and  going  at 
every  point,  ilt  would  make  some  of  these  legis- 
lative members  and  state  officials  shudder,  if 
they  knew  to  what  extent  their  every  move  was 
being  watched  and  reported  every  day.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  these  weak-kneed  men,  during 
the  great  legislative  contests,  are  partly  con- 
scious of  their  awkward  attitude.  They  gen- 
erally carry  an  advertisement  of  that  fact  on 
their  countenances.  The  nervousness  which 
they  exhibit  whenever  approached,  shows  how 
the  secret  force  of  the  conspiracy  pulls  on  them. 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  93 

They  are  guarded  in  every  word.  They  move 
about  as  if  under  some  mysterious  spell.  I  can 
think  of  no  situation  so  undesirable  as  that  of 
the  unwilling  conspirator,  afraid  to  go  forward 
and  afraid  to  turn  back.  To  hold  these  halting 
men  in  line,  is  now  the  special  business  of  the 
legal  bosses  from  Omaha.  The  potent  energy 
of  the  boss  now  shows  itself  in  the  swift  work  of 
the  stenographers  and  typewriters,  who  hurry 
out  hundreds  of  pages  daily  of  typewritten 
manuscripts,  arguments  and  data,  to  be  used 
among  the  members  who  want  some  reasons  to 
show  their  constituents  why  a  rate  bill  should 
not  be  passed. 

The  railroads  in  most  cases  can  force  the 
members  into  a  square  stand  against  freight 
regulation,  but  for  fear  of  an  uprising  from  tho 
public,  they  prefer  to  make  what  they  call  "a 
showing."  They  are  able  to  show  by  tables  of 
figures  that  the  railroad  business  at  best  is  un- 
profitable. They  can  prove  by  figures  that  an 
arbitrary  reduction  of  rates  would  not  only 
cripple  the  railroad  interests  but  would  serious- 
ly hinder  the  business  progress  of  the  state.  It 
is  a  part  of  the  business  of  the  railroad  boss 
to  meet  the  hesitating  members,  one  by  one,  as 
they  are  steered  into  his  private  rooms  at  the 


9 J,.  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

hotel.  If  the  boss  is  not  able  through  his  show- 
ing to  convince  the  halting  member  and  to  ob- 
tain a  dirct  promise  from  him,  he  is  provided 
b}  the  lobbyist  with  the  information  as  to  which 
state  officer  or  which  influential  pass  holder  in 
the  member's  home  county  has  a  pull  on  this 
particular  member.  It  is  not  an  uncommon 
thing  for  the  office  holders  at  the  state  house 
to  be  called  upon  to  use  their  influence  to  bring 
•refractory  legislators  "into  line." 

It  would  surprise  the  voters  to  know  how 
many  of  the  state  officers  and  underworkers,  in 
the  official  departments  at  the  state  house,  are 
used  by  the  railroads  as  cappers  and  persuaders 
to  influence  railroad  legislation.  It  would  sur- 
prise the  voters  to  know  how  many  are  the  pass 
holders  about  them  everywhere  and  how  they 
all  conspire  together  to  maintain  railroad  gov- 
ernment. Every  pass  holder,  whether  conscious 
of  it  or  not,  becomes  a  part  of  this  conspiracy 
to  keep  the  state  government  away  from  the 
people. 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  95 


CHAPTER  XIII 

BIG    CORPORATIONS    HOVER    OVER   AND    PRO- 
TECT   THE    LITTLE    CORPORATIONS. 

Committee  power  is  the  chief  lawmaking 
power  of  the  legislature.  The  railroads  want 
control  over  the  committee  on  miscellaneous 
corporations  so  that  they  can  hold  the  whip 
hand  over  the  smaller  corporations  in  politics. 
It  is  the  policy  of  the  big  corporations  to  hover 
over  and  control  the  smaller  corporations,  and 
to  knep  them  subservient  to  railroad  influences. 
The  railroads  at  the  same  time  assume  a  sort 
of  protectorate  over  the  public  service  corpor- 
ations. They  hold  them  secure  against  public 
sentiment  that  may  arise  in  the  cities.  This 
arrangement  by  which  the  smaller  corporate 
systems,  such  as  the  street  railway  systems, 
telephone,  telegraph  and  lighting  systems  are 
organized  politically  and  controlled  by  the  rail- 
roads, as  a  subordinate  branch  of  railroad 
power,  is  advantageous  and  therefore  agreeable 
to  both  parties. 


96  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

The  railroads  need  the  assistance  of  the 
smaller  corporations  to  control  the  cities.  The 
smaller  corporations  need  railroad  influence  at 
the  state  house  to  protect  them  in  the  state 
legislature.  Here  is  a  relation  of  mutual  de- 
pendence and  advantage  that  holds  these  two 
branches  of  corporate  power  together.  When- 
ever the  railroads  are  being  attacked  in  the  city, 
it  is  the  duty  of  the  city  corporations  to  rally 
to  their  defense.  If,  for  example,  there  is  agita- 
tion in  any  city  against  freight  rate  discrimina- 
tion, the  public  service  corporations  of  that  city 
are  expected  through  the  political  cappers  and 
street  talkers  to  assist  in  creating  a  counter 
current  in  the  public  thought.  When  the  wind 
of  public  sentiment  begins  to  blow  from  the 
north  against  freight  rate  extortion  the  small 
corporations  will  assist  in  creating  a  wind  from 
the  south.  If  the  over-taxed  property  hold- 
ers of  the  city  complain  that  the  railroads  do 
not  pay  their  share  of  city  taxes,  every  ward 
heeler  and  street  politician,  under  the  special 
control  of  the  gas  company,  the  street  railway 
company  and  the  telephone  company,  is  ready 
to  show  that  the  poor  old  railroads  are  already 
over-taxed,  and  that  it  h  the  respectable  citi- 
zen, the  rich  men  of  tha  city  and  the  well-to- 


LEE  SPRATLEN 

Secretary  to  George  W.  Holdredge,  and  a  member  of  the 
Fire  and  Police  Board  at  Omaha.  One  of  the  most 
powerful  and  influential  men  in  Burlington  politics. 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  97 

do  farmers  who  are  the  real  tax  shirkers.  So 
also  under  the  rule  that  one  good  turn  deserves 
another  the  free  pass  holders  of  the  city,  who 
are  the  special  champions  of  the  railroads,  are 
expected  to  defend  the  city  corporations  when- 
ever they  need  defense. 

If  there  is  a  bill  introduced  in  the  legisla- 
ture to  enable  the  city  to  construct  and  operate 
its  own  lighting  plant  and  to  sell  light  to  the 
people  at  a  reasonable  price,  the  free  pass  hold- 
ers are  expected  to  assist  in  making  public 
sentiment  against  the  bill,  and  securing,  if  pos- 
sible, its  defeat  in  the  legislature.  If  the  street 
railway  company  refuses  to  pay  its  taxes,  and 
a  suit  is  brought  to  compel  payment,  the  free 
pass  holders  are  expected  to  hold  public  senti- 
ment in  check,  as  much  as  possible,  so  that  the 
suit  in  court  can  be  delayed  from  year  to  year, 
until  the  waiting  public  becomes  tired  with  the 
delay  and  consents  to  a  compromise.  Bear  in 
mind  that  the  railroad  companies,  while  they 
hold  these  public  service  corporations  under 
political  subjection  just  as  they  do  the  free  pass 
holding  officials,  they  must  exercise  their  power 
over  these  smaller  corporations  under  the  rule 
of  "give  and  take."  They  must  stand  by  each 
other  as  friends.     The  people  may  dispute  with 


98  The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

each  other,  political  parties  may  contend  against 
each  other,  but  the  corporations  must  stand 
together. 

The  railroad  lobbyists,  who  have  laid  politi- 
cal eggs  out  over  the  state  before  the  conven- 
tions were  held,  who  have  hovered  over  and 
hatched  out  the  legislative  brood  under  the  pay 
and  direction  of  the  big  corporations,  are  ex- 
pected now  to  have  regard  for  the  little  cor- 
porations also,  and  to  get  them  into  the  pro- 
tecting conspiracy  even  as  a  hen  gathers  her 
chickens  under  her  wings. 

In  the  feudal  days  it  was  the  business  of 
the  king  to  call  the  warring  barons  into  his 
court  and  make  them  agree.  So  p.lso  railroad 
influence  being  king  in  Nebraska  politics,  while 
it  encourages  party  strife  among  the  people,  it 
knows  how  to  command  peace  between  the  cor- 
porations, both  big  and  little,  whenever  it  hears 
murmurs  and  discontent  from  the  people. 

The  lobbyists  being  vested  with  full  power 
to  act  for  the  big  corporations,  and  occupying 
a+  the  same  time  this  relation  of  hovering  moth- 
erhood over  the  little  corporations,  and  each 
lobbyist  being  brother,  guide,  philosopher  and 
friend  to  each  individual  member  of  the  legis- 
lature, and  to  each  official  dignitary  at  the  state 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.  99 

house,  the  power  of  railroad  lobby  sovereignty 
over  the  legislature  and  over  the  state  govern- 
ment is  suprema 


100         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE  BETRAYAL  OF  THE  PEOPLE  BY  PASS 
HOLDING  OFFICIALS— THE  PEOPLE  DEMAND 
BREAD  BUT  ARE  GIVEN  A  STONE. 

As  a  nation  of  people  we  have  many  intri- 
cate problems  which  neither  our  statesmen  nor 
our  political  philosophers  have  been  able  as  jet 
to  solve.  One  of  these,  perhaps  the  most  im- 
portant, is  that  of  establishing  a  direct  and 
working  connection  between  the  will  of  the  peo- 
ple and  the  official  acts  of  our  public  officers. 

The  theory  upon  which  our  government  is 
founded,  that  the  power  of  government  comes 
alone  from  the  will  of  the  people,  makes  our 
government  in  form  ideal.  But  we  fail  in  this, 
that  we  are  not  able  to  keep  the  will  of  the 
people  directly  connected  with  our  officials  as 
the  controlling  power  over  their  acts.  We  say 
that  the  will  of  the  people  is  the  law  of  the 
land.  We  say  this  because  that  is  the  theory 
upon  which  our  government  is  organized.  But 
even  while  we  say  this  to  each  other,  as  loyal 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         10 1 

citizens,  we  realize  that  it  is  not  true.  In  all 
our  patriotic  boasting  we  are  still  conscious  of 
the  fact  that  the  will  of  the  people  does  not 
control  our  officials.  The  will  of  the  corpora- 
tions intervenes  and  stands  between  the  will 
of  the  people  and  their  law  makers.  So  that  in 
fact  it  is  not  the  will  of  the  people,  but  the 
will  of  the  corporations  that  is  the  law  in  Ne- 
braska. 

In  this  last  year  we  have  seen  an  uprising 
of  public  sentiment  against  railroad  domination 
in  Nebraska.  We  have  heard  the  people  in 
every  city,  town  and  village  of  the  state  demand- 
ing relief  from  freight  rate  extortion.  *  We 
have  heard  the  demands  of  the  people  for  the 
abolition  of  The  Free  Pass  System.  "We  are 
not  mistaken  in  this.  The  attitude  of  public 
sentiment  has  been  pronounced  and  out-spoken. 
In  answer  to  this  public  demand  we  see  now 
the  results  of  a  legislative  session.  We  see 
the  legislature  not  only  disregarding  the  de- 
mands of  the  people,  but  showing  a  subserv- 
iency on  the  part  of  the  legislative  body  to 
corporation  will  that  shames  the  state  and  hu- 
miliates every  self-respecting  citizen. 

Looking  back  now  over  this  last  year  we 
have   an  object  lesson  which  seems  to  me   to 


102         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

completely  demonstrate  the  fact  that  when  tho 
people's  will  is  squarely  confronted  by  the  will 
of  the  corporations,  the  corporation  will  is  the 
master  over  the  official.  With  the  free  passes 
in  their  pockets,  we  see  our  lawmaking  officials 
moving  this  way  and  that  under  the  crack  of 
the  corporation  whip  like  trained  oxen  moving 
under  their  master's  yoke. 

The  voters  elect  the  official  and  from  them 
he  gets  authority  to  act.  But  after  the  election 
the  corporation  whip  controls  him  and  the  gov- 
ernment that  he  gives  the  people  is  corporation 
government. 

During  the  state  campaign  of  1904,  this 
question  was  raised,  and  so  far  as  I  was  able, 
as  candidate  for  governor,  I  forced  this  issue, 
believing,  as  I  said  to  the  people  over  and  over 
again,  that  the  first  question  to  be  solved  by 
the  Nebraska  people  was  how  to  get  back  self- 
government.  Of  what  avail  is  it  to  us  as  a  com- 
munity to  discuss  needed  reforms,  if  we  have 
no  power  over  our  officials  to  put  these  reforms 
into  law  and  into  practice  ?  Why  discuss  ex- 
tortion in  freight  rates,  if  we  have  no  power  to 
regulate  our  railroad  corporations  and  to  pre- 
vent extortion  ?  The  first  thing  to  do  is  to  get 
our  hands  on  our  state  government.      In  this 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         103 

campaign  I  tried  to  show  that  the  politicians  of 
Nebraska  were  procuring  the  power  in  our 
state  government  from  the  people  and  deliver- 
ing it  over  to  the  railroad  corporations  in  con- 
sideration of  free  passes.  I  called  the  atten- 
tion of  the  voters  to  the  fact  that  the  distri- 
bution of  free  passes,  by  the  Nebraska  railroads, 
had  been  reduced  to  a  system  which  had  the 
effect  of  bribing  the  politicians  and  public  offi- 
cers, and  was  therefore  a  bribery  system.  I 
took  the  ground  that  the  destruction  of  this 
free  pass  bribery  system  was  the  very  first  duty 
that  was  pressing  upon  Nebraska  people,  and 
that  until  this  duty  was  performed  by  the  peo- 
ple, it  was  idle  to  discuss  other  political  re- 
forms. 

It  seemed  to  me  then,  as  it  seems  now,  un- 
reasonable to  expect  anti-pass  legislation,  or  any 
legislation  that  will  curb  the  greed  and  po- 
litical power  of  the  railroads  and  trusts,  so  long 
as  the  people  continue  to  elect  free  pass  holders 
to  office. 

I  am  trying  to  emphasize  what  most  of  the 
Nebraska  people  already  know,  that  representa- 
tive government  in  this  state  is  practically 
dead.  The  form  of  it  is  all  that  we  have  left. 
Its  spirit  has  been  crushed  by  corporate  power. 


10 Jf.         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


To  prove  this,  I  am  citing  the  history  of  the  last 
legislature.  "When  it  convened  on  the  third  day 
of^Jamiary,  1905,  it  was  confronted  fairly  and 
squarely  with  what  we  call  the  railroad  ques- 
tion. By  the  railroad  question  we  mean  the 
people's  demand  for, — 

1.  A  law  that  will  abolish  The  Free  Pass 

System. 

2.  A  law  that  will  abolish  freight  rate  dis- 
crimination and  extortion. 

3.  A  law  that  will  compel  the  railroads 
to  pay  their  just  share  of  taxes. 

There  are  many  other  questions  between  the 
people  and  the  railroads,  in  which  corporation 
power  needs  pruning  with  the  legislative  knife. 
But  the  people  were  especially  urging  legisla- 
tive action  on  these  three  matters, — the  free 
pass  bribe,  freight  rate  discrimination  and  ex- 
tortion and  tax  shirking.  The  legislative 
members  had  been  fully  advised  during  the 
campaign  that  these  matters  were  being  pressed 
by  public  sentiment,  and  the  members  certainly 
knew  that  the  people  expected  them  to  take  up 
these  questions  and  settle  them  by  laws  that 
could  be  understood;  that  could  be  enforced, 
and  that  would  give  the  people  the  relief  they 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         105 

had  a  right  to  expect  from  a  representative  gov- 
ernment. 

The  people  do  not  talk  of  tnese  things,  of 
the  extortionate  freight  tax  put  upon  their 
commodities,  and  of  the  offensive  free  pass 
that  is  flaunted  impudently  in  their  faces 
on  every  railroad  train ;  they  do  not  com- 
plain of  these  things,  as  the  pass  holders 
say,  merely  because  they  are  bad  tempered 
and  jealous  of  the  prosperity  of  the  corpora- 
tions. They  complain  of  these  things  be- 
cause they  are  unjust,  and  the  people  under- 
stand that  it  is  the  business  of  the  state  govern- 
ment to  protect  them  against  such  injustice. 

If  our  state  government  is  representative  in 
fact,  as  veil  as  in  form,  there  should  be  laws 
on  our  statute  books,  and  honest  officials  stand- 
ing ready  to  enforce  such  laws,  so  that  any  citi- 
zen unjustly  discriminated  against  by  any  cor- 
poration, could  resist  the  injustice  by  an  ap- 
peal to  the  law.  If  there  is  no  law  to  reach 
the  injustice  complained  of,  it  is  the  business 

(if  the   representatives  *  *  the  people  to  enact 
such  a  law 


106         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


CHAPTEE  XV, 

THE   NEBRASKA   LEGISLATURE   AND   THE 
PRESIDENT. 

I  have  already  pointed  out  that  the  senti- 
ment for  railroad  regulation  by  law  was  prac- 
tically universal  among  the  people  during  the 
state  campaign.  The  dishonesty,  greed  and  un- 
fairness of  the  railroads,  and  the  audacity  with 
which  they  had  assumed  dictatorial  control  over 
the  politics  and  government  of  the  state,  had 
become  so  offensive  to  the  people  that  during 
the  campaign  there  was  no  newspaper,  public 
speaker,  political  leader  or  candidate  for  office, 
who  dared  to  utter  a  word  in  their  defense. 

They  stood  condemned  from  every  stand- 
point of  business  fairness  and  common  honesty. 

Their  political  methods  were  despised  by 
every  self-respecting  citizen  who  wanted  the 
government  of  public  affairs  to  be  representa- 
tive in  character  and  practice. 

The  legislative  candidates  as  they  moved 
among  the  people  before  election  conceded  these 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         107 

conditions  as  to  public  sentiment.  They  un- 
derstood then  what  was  in  the  public  mind. 
They  begged  for  the  votes  of  the  cheated  tax- 
payers and  freight  robbed  producers  with  the 
understanding  that  laws  would  be  passed  which 
would  remedy  the  abuses.  Not  only  did  the 
legislative  members  promise  before  election,  but 
on  the  eleventh  day  of  January  after  they  had 
organized  the  legislative  machinery  for  busi- 
ness, they  passed  a  resolution  and  gave  it  out 
for  publication  to  the  people  of  the  state,  de- 
claring that  they  were  in  "full  accord  with 
President  Roosevelt's  views  of  dealing  with 
corporations  as  outlined  in  his  last  message  to 
Congress." 

I  have  quoted  the  exact  words  of  the  resolu- 
tion. In  this  they  were  advertising  to  the  peo- 
ple that  they,  as  a  legislative  body,  were,  not 
in  part,  but  in  full  accord  with  the  President's 
views. 

And  what  wore  the  President's  views?  "A 
square  deal."  That  is  what  the  President 
recommended  that  the  National  Congress  should 
provide  for  by  law. 

Now  when  this  Nebraska  congress  sent  out 
to  the  Nebraska  people  this  advertisement  of 
their  endorsement  of  what  the  president  had 


108         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

recommended  to  the  National  Congress,  it  was 
equivalent  to  a  promise  that  this  Nebraska 
congress  would  give  the  Nebraska  people  a 
"square  deal."  A  "square  deal"  in  the  National 
congress  meant  the  exactment  of  a  law  that 
would  stop  discrimination  and  extortion  in  in- 
terstate rates.  "A  square  deal"  in  the  Nebraska 
congress  meant  a  law  that  would  stop  discrim- 
ination and  extortion  in  Nebraska  rates. 

Am  I  right  about  this  ?  Do  I  overstate 
the  case  ?  Is  there  any  other  reasonable  con- 
struction to  be  put  on  the  resolution  of  the  Ne- 
braska legislature  ?  If  this  resolution  meant 
anything  to  the  Nebraska  people  who  read  it, 
it  meant  "we,  as  the  lawmakers  of  Nebraska, 
will  deal  with  the  corporations  in  Nebraska  as 
the  president  wants  congress  to  deal  with  the 
corporations  at  Washington.  We  will  enact 
laws  in  Nebraska  that  will  compel  the  Nebraska 
railroads  to  give  every  shipper  who  ships,  and 
every  passenger  who  rides,  a  "square  deal." 

Nov/  this  Nebraska  resolution  was  published 
in  the  newspapers  and  went  out  to  the  people 
al]  over  the  state.  On  the  15th  day  of  January, 
four  days  after  this  "square  deal"  resolution 
had  been  passed,  the  Southwestern  Nebraska 
r'  -uit  Growers  Association  met  at  Auburn.     As 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         109 

the  fruit  growers  met  to  consider  the  condition 
of  their  business,  they  found  the  outlook  gloomy 
enough.  Their  business  was  practically  para- 
lyzed. The  fruit  growers  had  done  their  part. 
They  had  developed  the  business  to  the  point  of 
success  so  far  as  production  was  concerned. 
The  conditions  also  were  favorable  for  the  con- 
sumption of  their  products.  ''There  was  a  home 
demand  right  at  their  very  door.  The  people 
in  the  Northwestern  part  of  the  state  could  raise 
cattle  but  not  fruit.  Here  among  the  cattle 
farmers  was  a  market  for  the  product  of  the 
fruit  growers.  The  producers  had  the  fruit 
t?  sell  in  abundance  and  the  consumers  stood 
ready  to  buy  it  and  they  had  the  price.  But 
still  the  business  was  paralyzed  and  the  fruit 
was  rotting  on  the  ground  in  the  orchards. 

Why? 

Because  the  Nebraska  railroads,  to  which 
the  state  government  had  given  a  monopoly  on 
the  carrying  business,  had  put  a  carrying  tax 
on  this  Nebraska  fruit  that  practically  excluded 
it  from  its  home  market.  And  its  home  market 
was  all  the  market  it  had.  The  fruit  business 
of  Southeastern  Nebraska  must  depend  on 
Northwestern  Nebraska  for  its  market.  If  it 
is  excluded  from  this  market  it  must  fail  as  a 
business  proposition. 


110         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

It  is  a  hard  thing  to  say  of  the  Nebraska 
railroad  managers  that  they  deliberately  and 
systematically  arrange  their  local  freight  sched- 
ules so  as  to  depress  and  hinder  the  develop- 
ment of  many  industries  within  the  state  in 
order  that  they  may  bring  into  the  state  com- 
modities from  other  states  over  a  long  haul, 
simply  because  a  long  haul  can  stand  a  heavier 
freight  charge  than  a  short  haul.  But  how- 
ever hard  this  charge  may  seem  in  print  it  is 
nevertheless  true.  There  is  not  a  single  local 
industry  in  this  state  which  has  not  felt  the 
iron  hand  of  this  injustice.  There  is  no  indus- 
try or  factory  or  business  enterprise,  outside  the 
limits  of  this  commonwealth,  that  does  not  con- 
stantly feel  the  weight  of  this  railroad  mill- 
stone hanging  about  its  neck. 

Then  their  resolution  endorsing  the  Presi- 
dent was  insincere  ?  It  was.  It  was  merely  a 
temporary  expedient,  a  subterfuge  intended  to 
lull  the  clamor  of  public  sentiment  and  tide 
over  the  emergency  through  the  session,  thus 
giving  the  railroads  another  two  years  of  ex- 
tortion. 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         Ill 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

NO  HOPE  FOR  RAILROAD  REGULATION  FROM 
NATIONAL  CONGRESS  UNTIL  FREE  PASS 
SYSTEM  IS  DESTROYED  IN  THE  STATES. 

If  Nebraska  were  the  only  railroad-ridden 
state  in  the  Union  her  people  might  well  hope 
for  an  early  riddance  of  the  railroad  boss  and 
bis  free  pass  club.  The  influence  that  would 
come  into  our  politics  and  government  from 
other  states,  and  the  higher  sentiments  and 
cleaner  methods  prevailing  in  the  entire  country, 
as  object  lessons  before  us,  would  shame  us  and 
prompt  us  to  take  higher  ground  in  our  politics 
and  state  government.  But  the  condition  of 
Nebraska  is  not  an  isolated  case.  There  is  not 
a  state  west  of  the  Mississippi  River  where 
representative  government  exists  except  in  form. 
Every  Western  state  has  its  free  pass  machine, 
maintained  by  the  railroads,  directed  by  their 
general  managers  and  attorneys,  and  operated 
in  detail  by  experienced  lobbyists. 

It  is  useless  for  the  people  in  these  railroad- 


112         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


ridden  states  to  look  to  the  President  and  the 
National  government  for  relief.  The  President 
through  his  bold  and  outspoken  attitude  has 
aroused  the  people  in  every  part  of  the  country 
to  hope  that  through  his  influence  on  congress 
the  evils  may  be  remedied.  This  stirring  of 
public  sentiment  by  the  President,  who  is  be- 
lieved by  the  people  to  be  both  sincere  and 
courageous,  has  already  done  much  good,  and 
good  will  continue  to  now  from  the  efforts  of 
an  honest  and  courageous  president  and  an 
aroused  public  sentiment. 

But  when  the  President  has  done  his  very 
best  through  the  whole  four  years  of  his  present 
term,  what  will  be  the  result?  Can  the  Presi- 
dent force  the  National  Congress  into  any  ac- 
tion that  will  drive  railroad  control  out  of  the 
government  at  Washington  and  out  of  these 
various  state  governments?  The  American 
Congress,  as  now  constituted,  is  a  railroad  con- 
gress. The  members,  with  perhaps  a  few  ex- 
ceptions, were  picked  out  and  put  up  by  the 
railroad  bosses.  It  is  true  that  they  were  elected 
by  the  votes  of  the  people,  but  congressmen 
have  learned  that  the  influence  which  can  dictate 
nominations  is  the  power  that  they  must  look 
to  for  future   nominations,   and  the   effect  of 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         113 

this  view  upon  the  congressman  makes  him 
afraid  to  oppose  the  corporations  and  afraid  to 
trust  his  political  fortunes  to  the  people. 

The  railroad-procured  congressman  talks 
glittering  generalities  to  the  people  in  public, 
but  he  talks  business  with  the  railroad  boss  in 
private.  The  railroad  boss  has  a  pull  on  him 
and  his  own  instinct  of  self-preservation  makes 
him  yield  to  this  pull,  even  when  his  higher 
sentiments  and  better  manhood  are  prompting 
him  to  resist.  Railroad  corporations,  in  their 
policy  of  maintaining  control  over  the  party 
machinery  in  each  state,  hold  in  their  hands 
the  political  destiny  of  the  congressman.  By 
this  means  they  keep  themselves  in  close  connec- 
tion with  the  members  and  their  official  acts. 
The  public  influence  in  the  meantime  is  crowded 
away  and  when  the  time  comes  for  the  con- 
gressman to  act  he  can  distinctly  feel  the  close 
connection  between  himself  and  the  railroads. 
With  their  lobbyists  hovering  over  him,  they 
seem  very  near  while  the  people  seem  very  far 
away. 

To  oust  railroad  representatives,  and  to  in- 
stal  the  people's  servants  in  the  National  Con- 
gress, the  people  themselves  in  the  several  states 
must  demonstrate  that  they  are  in  control  of 


1  Hi         The  Free,  Pass  Bribery  System. 


the  politics  and  are  the  real  masters  of  political 
destiny.  Notwithstanding  the  influence  of  the 
President,  and  notwithstanding  the  general  pub- 
lic sentiment,  railroad  control  of  government 
will  continue  at  V/ashington  so  long  as  it  con- 
tinues in  the  states  from  which  the  congress- 
men and  senators  are  elected.  The  people  can 
make  a  direct  and  potent  connection  between 
their  will  and  congress  whenever  they  get  a 
direct  connection  between  themselves  and  the 
nominating  conventions.  When  the  people, 
commencing  in  their  ward  caucuses  and  pri- 
maries and  moving  on  to  their  county  and 
district  conventions,  announce  the  doctrine,  and 
agree  to  stand  together  on  the  proposition,  that 
no  pass  holder  or  railroad  politician  shall  sit 
ac  a  delegate  in  any  county  or  district  conven- 
tion, then  the  congressmen  at  Washington  will 
begin  to  feel  a  direct  connection  between  them- 
selves and  their  constitu tents. 

The  people  must  back  the  President  with 
practical  political  work  if  they  expect  practical 
results  from  his  influence.  All  talk  of  railroad 
regulation  by  congress  is  mere  twaddle  until 
the  people  take  steps  to  regulate  the  congress- 
man. Get  after  the  man.  There  is  no  other 
way. l  Get  after  the  pass  holding  congressman 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         115 


in  the  caucuses  and  in  the  conventions,  and  if, 
as  may  happen  now  and  then,  some  two-faced 
pretender  slips  into  the  nomination,  then  get 
after  him  at  the  polls.  The  people  can  exert 
their  influence  and  make  the  congressman  feel 
it,  if  they  will  put  forth  the  necessary  energy 
to  do  it.  The  President  can  arouse  public  sen- 
timent, but  he  cannot  run  all  the  ward  caucuses 
and  district  conventions  in  the  country.  The 
President  is  and  always  will  be  powerless  to 
help  the  people  so  long  as  they  continue  negli- 
gent in  the  initiative  steps  in  politics.  The 
President  will  remain  a  mere  figure-head,  his 
higher  ideals  will  be  of  no  avail,  and  his  pur- 
poses will  be  thwarted  on  every  important  issue, 
if  the  people  continue  to  fill  the  congressional 
seats  with  men  who  owe  allegiance  to  the  rail- 
roads. ■  " 


116         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


CHAPTEE  XVII. 

HIGH  LOCAL  FREIGHT  RATES  AND  THE  "LONG 
HAUL." 

Congress  is  being  urged  by  the  President 
and  by  the  press  of  the  country  to  strengthen 
the  interstate  commerce  law  so  that  it  can  ac- 
tually take  hold  of  the  rate  question.  The  Avhole 
country  commends  the  President  in  the  bold 
stand  which  he  has  taken,  but  no  one  can  foresee 
what  the  result  will  be.  "Whatever  good  docs 
come  from  national  legislation  is  a  long  ways 
off.  The  backs  of  the  people  will  bend  under 
the  weight  of  extortion  for  many  years  yet 
before  any  practical  relief  will  come  from  the 
National  Congress.  And  when  at  last,  after 
years  of  delay,  congress  has  clone  its  very  best, 
still  it  will  have  done  but  little. 

The  fixing  of  interstate  rates  by  the  Inter- 
state Commerce  Commission  is  only  a  part  of 
the  remedy.  The  other  part,  and  by  far  the 
most  important  part  of  rate  making  by  law,  is 
the  fixing  of  just  local  rates  within  the  states. 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         117 

• 

It  seems  to  me  the  real  work  of  regulating 
railroads  by  law,  not  only  as  to  freight  rates 
and  taxes,  but  as  to  all  other  questions  in  dis- 
pute between  the  people  and  the  railroads,  must 
bo  done  by  state  legislation.  Congress  can  stop 
the  rebate  system.  It  can  take  away  the  ad- 
vantage which  the  big  shipper  now  has  over 
the  little  shipper.  Congress  can  help  the  peo- 
ple some  in  the  equalizing  in  rates  between  dif- 
ferent cities,  and  congress  can,  if  it  will,  cor- 
rect the  evils  of  discrimination  and  extortion 
on  interstate  rates.  But  after  this  has  been 
done  by  congress,  still  the  question  of  removing 
the  great  burden  of  extortion  that  is  in  the  local 
rates  will  be  unsolved.  Also  the  taxation  ques- 
tion will  be  left  untouched.  A  reduction  of 
local  rates  in  each  state  would  have  the  effect 
to  reduce  interstate  rates  all  over  the  country. 
It  is  always  the  steady  purpose  of  the  railroads 
to  promote  the  "long  haul."  ^ This  principle 
is  upheld  in  all  the  railroad  plans.  The  rail- 
road managers  want  to  compel  every  commodity 
to  ride  as  far  as  possible.  The  railroads  have 
transportation  to  sell  and  they  naturally  want 
to  sell  as  much  of  it  as  possible  to  each  shipper. 
To  reduce  local  rates  in  Nebraska  for  ex- 
ample  on    apples,    would   promote   the    "short 


118         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

haul"  business  on  apples  from  Richardson 
County  to  Custer  County,  but  would  interfere 
with  the  "long  haul"  business  on  apples  from 
Michigan  and  from  New  York  state  to  Custer 
County,  Nebraska.  In  this  case  the  people  of 
Custer  County  can  see  that  the  railroad  plan 
of  discriminating  against  the  Richardson  County 
apples,  which  are  near  by,  in  favor  of  the  New 
York  apples,  is  directly  against  the  interest  of 
the  Custer  County  people,  who  are  in  justice 
entitled  to  the  privilege  of  buying  the  apples 
which  are  nearest  to  them,  and  to  have  these 
shipped  to  them  at  a  reasonable  rate  for  tlie 
"short  haul."  So  also  the  apple  producers  of 
Richardson  County  are  entitled  to  the  advan- 
tage of  the  Custer  County  market,  from  which 
they  are  practically  excluded  by  reason  of  an 
extortionate  local  rate  which  compels  the  Rich- 
ardson County  apples  to  pay  about  three  times 
as  much  per  mile  for  their  ride  to  Cii3ter  County 
as  the  New  York  apples  pay.  If  the  late  Ne- 
braska legislature  had  enacted  a  law  reducing 
the  rate  on  apples  in  Nebraska,  the  effect  would 
be  to  raise  the  price  of  apples  to  the  producers 
in  Richardson  County,  and  at  the  same  time  re- 
duce the  price  of  apples  to  the  consumers  in 
Custer  County,  for  the  lower  rate  between  Falls 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         119 

City  and  Broken  Bow  would  also  reduce  the 
long  haul  rate  from  Rochester,  New  York,  to 
Broken  Bow.  With  the  price  lower  in  Custer 
County  by  reason  of  the  lower  local  rate,  the 
railroads  would  be  compelled  to  lower  the  long 
haul  rate  frcm  New  York,  from  Michigan,  and 
from  the  Red  Apple  Country  of  Southern 
Missouri.  The  New  York  apple  producer  has 
the  world  for  his  market.  The  Nebraska  de- 
mand is  but  a  small  matter  to  him.  When  he 
finds  the  price  of  apples  reduced  in  Custer 
County  by  reason  of  the  lower  local  rate,  he 
will  naturally  withdraw  from  the  Custer  County 
market  and  sell  his  apples  elsewhere.  The 
effect  would  be  to  cause  the  railroads  to  reduce 
the  long  haul  rate  between  New  York  and 
Custer  County  in  order  to  induce  the  shipment 
of  New  York  apples  to  the  Nebraska  market. 

This  natural  competition  between  the  long 
and  short  haul  is,  in  my  judgment,  the  lever  of 
power  by  which  state  legislation  should  regulate 
both  state  and  interstate  rates.  As  I  said  be- 
fore, it  is  the  steady  purpose  of  the  transpor- 
tation companies  to  maintain  high  local  rates 
within  the  states  in  order  to  protect  their  high 
interstate  rates.  It  is  a  part  of  their  plan  to 
hold  the  railroad  question,  especially  the  rate 


120         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

question,  as  much  as  possible  to  the  matter  of 
interstate  regulation.  Local  reduction  is  the 
only  logical  solution  of  the  rate  problem,  and 
the  sooner  Nebraska  people  recognize  this  fact 
and  address  themselves  to  the  task,  the  sooner 
they  will  be  free  from  railroad  extortion  that 
Nebraska  people  have  endured  so  many  years. 
In  our  attempt  to  regulate  the  railroads,  it  is 
important  that  the  Interstate  Commerce  Com- 
mission be  given  power,  not  only  to  prevent 
discrimination  and  rebates  but  also  to  fix  rates, 
but  to  bring  about  effective  control  of  the  rail- 
ways, the  states  also  must  pass  similar  laws. 
The  states  have  exclusive  control  over  local 
rates  and  taxes  and  unless  the  states  do  their 
part  all  attempted  railroad  regulation  will  avail 
nothing.  Government  ownership  is  the  only 
solution  of  this  railroad  question.  "  There  are 
many,  however,  who  hesitate  to  go  this  far. 
They  believe  regulation  should  be  first  thorough- 
ly tested.  The  states  and  the  general  government, 
therefore,  should  move  simultaneously  and  to- 
gether and  in  good  faith  make  an  honest  effort 
to  rid  the  country  from  the  present  railroad 
evils,  and  if  it  cannot  be  done  that  way,  gov- 
ernment ownership  will  come  just  that  much 
sooner. 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         121 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

SERVING  TWO  MASTERS. 

!No  man  can  serve  two  masters.  This  truth 
is  as  old  as  time  itself.  It  has  remained  for  the 
modern  politician  to  try  and  give  this  ancient 
truth  a  new  meaning.  The  corporations  and 
the  trusts  have  grown  to  such  large  proportions 
that  their  influence  in  the  state  is  a  positive 
menace.  While  they  make  professions  of 
wanting  only  what  is  right,  they  always  want 
public  officials  to  leave  it  to  them  to  say  what 
is  right  and  what  is  wrong.  The  truth  is  that 
they  are  not  satisfied  with  just  treatment  or  a 
square  deal  between  themselves  and  the  peo- 
ple. Everywhere  the  corporations  are  infring- 
ing upon  the  rights  of  the  people.  Everywhere 
the  corporations  are  defeating  wholesome  legis- 
lation that  the  people  want  and  are  placing 
upon  our  .statute  hooks  such  laws  as  will  give 
the    corporate  cial    favors    and    special 

privileges.     In  or  necial  favors, 

they  have  gone  into  politics  for  the  purpose  of 


122         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


electing  mayors,  councimien,  county  officers, 
state  officers,  members  of  the  legislature  and 
judges,  and  these  officials  generally  represent 
the  corporations  and  ignore  the  wishes  of  the 
people.  Public  officials,  feeling  that  they  have 
been  elected  by  and  through  the  influence  of  the 
corporations,  favor  the  corporations  all  the  way 
through  in  the  administration  of  public  affairs. 
The  people  have  endured  these  wrongs  until 
they  have  grown  tired  of  them.  This  abuse  of 
political  power  has  gone  on  until  any  candidate 
nominated  by  the  people,  or  any  official  who 
is  in  office,  who  is  actually  the  true  servant  of 
the  people,  is  never  satisfactory  to  the  railroads 
and  the  corporations  generally.  This  is  so  be- 
cause there  is  an  irrepressible  conflict  on  be- 
tween the  people  and  these  corporations.  The 
people  want  only  what  is  right  and  just,  but 
the  corporations  want  more.  Therefore  the 
corporations  all  the  time  are  in  politics  and  are 
using  their  influence  to  have  elected  to  all  public 
offices  men  who  are  friendly  to  them  and  who 
are  not  faithful  to  the  people. 

These  candidates,  therefore,  after  they  are 
elected,  become  faithful  servants  of  the  cor- 
porations. It  is  seldom  that  any  candidate 
who  is  elected  by  the  corporations  goes  back 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System,        ]12B 

on  them  after  election.  He  always  remains 
loyal  to  them.  And  while  he  is  doing  this  he 
all  the  time  pretends  to  represent  the  people. 
He  tells  them  that  he  is  in  sympathy  with  them ; 
he  tells  them  that  they  are  wronged  by  the 
railroads;  he  tells  them  that  he  favors  such 
legislation  as  will  give  them  relief.  Generally 
speaking  the  people  take  him  at  his  word.  He 
is  elected  and  re-elected  but  all  the  time  this 
official  is  a  representative  of  the  corporations 
and  all  the  time  he  is  deceiving  and  misleading 
and  acting  the  traitor  to  the  people.  Apparent- 
ly he  is  serving  the  people,  but  in  fact  is  the 
loyal  agent  and  representative  of  the  corpora- 
tions. 

The  reader  should  bear  in  mind  that  this 
kind  of  a  candidate  or  public  official  never  can 
deceive  the  corporations  like  he  can  deceive 
the  people.  The  corporations  always  know 
their  man  before  he  is  elected,  and  they  know 
after  election  whether  or  not  as  a  matter  of 
fact  he  is  serving  them.  They  seldom,  if  ever, 
make  any  mistakes.  It  would  be  absolutely 
impossible  for  any  public  official  to  tell  the  cor- 
porations that  he  is  representing  them  when 
as  a  matter  of  fact  he  is  not.  Officials  know 
this.     Therefore  they  are  always  loyal  to  the 


Tlic  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


corporations.  Officials  also  know  that  it  is  an 
easy  matter  to  deceive  the  people,  and,  there- 
fore, they  marshal  all  of  the  elements  of  de- 
ception and  disloyalty  within  their  characters 
and  practice  it  upon  the  people. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  truth  of  these  as- 
sertions let  me  apply  it  to  the  railroads  of  Ne- 
braska. In  this  state  the  railroads  do  not  pay 
their  just  share  of  the  taxes;  the  people  pay 
more  than  their  share.  In  this  state  freight 
and  passenger  rates  are  extortionate.  The 
people  are  robbed  and  plundered  on  everything 
that  is  shipped  into  the  state  and  on  every- 
thing that  is  shipped  out  of  the  state.  The 
railroads  are  in  collusion  with  the  grain  trust, 
the  lumber  trust,  the  machine  trust,  and  the 
beef  trust  to  fleece  the  people.  The  truth  is 
that  all  trusts  are  maintained  largely  by  the 
aid  and  through  the  assistance  of  the  railroads. 
Almost  our  whole  public  officialdom  in  Nebraska 
is  bribed  by  The  Free  Pass  System.  Through 
The  Free  Pass  System  public  officials  are  named 
and  elected  by  the  railroads.  In  other  words 
we  have  railroad  government  here.  The  peo- 
ple have  absolutely  nothing  to  do  with  the  gov- 
ernment. The  people  are  becoming  aroused. 
They  have  condemned  The  Free  Pass  System. 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         125 

All  people,  who  are  not  in  a  conspiracy  with 
the  system  to  destroy  representative  govern- 
ment, say  that  The  Free  Pass  System  shall  be 
stricken  down;  they  also  say  that  freight 
and  passenger  rates  shall  be  reduced;  and  they 
also  say  that  the  railroads  shall  be  properly 
taxed  and  that  the  people  shall  be  properly 
taxed.  All  over  the  state  the  public  is  aroused 
on  all  these  questions. 

And  now  come  the  pass  holding  politicians 
fully  equal  to  the  occasion.  Old  time  pass 
holders,  who  have  been  in  the  service  of  the 
railroads  for  years,  are  now  joining  this  gen- 
eral sentiment  for  the  abolition  of  the  free 
pass.  They  also  say  that  railroads  generally 
should  be  regulated.  Why  do  they  do  this  ? 
Arc  they  sincerely  in  favor  of  this  remedial 
legislation?  Not  at  all.  The  railroads  go  on 
the  theory  that  it  would  be  a  dangerous  thing 
to  let  honest  and  sincere  men  get  into  the  of- 
fices and  legislate  upon  these  questions.  But 
the  sentiment  of  the  people  is  so  strong  that 
unless  they  do  something,  the  people's  candi- 
dates will  get  into  the  offices  and  will  bring  about 
legislation  that  will  remedy  these  evils.  The 
railroads,  therefore,  say  that  they  better  have 
this  legislation  attended  to  by  their  friends  and 


126         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

not  by  their  enemies.  Men,  therefore,  who  have 
been  in  the  service  of  the  railroads  for  years, 
get  into  the  midst  of  this  aroused  public  sen- 
timent and  profess  to  be  in  sympathy  with  it, 
and  by  these  methods  they  deceive  the  people, 
and  the  people  elect  these  old  pass  holders  to 
the  offices  again,  and  rest  assured  that  when 
they  are  elected  they  will  never  give  the  people 
the  relief  they  demand.  It  is  a  trick  success- 
fully played  by  the  professional  politicians  and 
old  pass  holders  who  are  in  the  employ  of  the 
railroads. 

Take  the  pass  question  by  itself.  Either 
the  free  pass  is  right  or  else  it  is  wrong.  But 
do  you  hear  any  of  the  old  pass  holders  de- 
fending the  pass  ?  Have  you  heard  any  can- 
didates for  office  who  are  pass  holders  defend- 
ing The  Free  Pass  System  ?  No.  They  never 
defend  the  free  pass.  They  know  that  public 
sentiment  is  against  it.  They  know  that  if  any 
railroad  candidate  should  endeavor  to  be  elected 
by  defending  the  free  pass  that  he  would  go 
down  in  ignominious  defeat.  Therefore  you 
will  find  old  time  pass  holders,  whenever  they 
run  for  .office,  saying  that  they  too  are  in  favor 
of  the  abolition  of  the  free  pass.  Platforms 
adopted  by  free  pass  holders  denounce  The  Free 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         127 

Pass  System.  This  is  done  to  deceive  the 
people.  This  is  done  to  win  the  offices.  You 
will  hear  these  candidates  talking  about  their 
platforms  and  you  will  hear  them  saying  that 
they  stand  squarely  on  them.  Let  me  sound 
the  note  of  warning  and  tell  the  people  that  all 
this  is  done  to  keep  the  railroads  in  control  and 
t.-.  bring  to  naught  all  legislation  that  is  calcu- 
;  to  curb  the  greed  of  the  railroads.  They 
i  this  plan  because  it  wins.  If  the  people 
believe  the  professions  of  these  old  pass  holders 
they  will  never  get  relief.  As  I  have  said  in 
this  little  volume  again  and  again,  the  only 
way  to  find  out  whether  a  man  is  really  a  tool 
of  the  corporations,  or  whether  he  is  not,  you 
must  find  out  whether  in  private  life  he  has 
been  a  pass  holder.  This  is  a  sure  sign  every 
time. 

Why  will  not  the  official  who  holds  the  of- 
fice deny  that  the  pass  is  a  bribe?  Why  will 
he  not  defend  the  pass?  It  would  seem  that 
pass  holders  would  not  keep  the  passes  in  their 
pockets  and  remain  silent.  They  do  so  be- 
cause the  pass  cannot  be  defended.  If  they 
do  anything  they  will  condemn  the  pass  while 
their  pockets  are  full  with  passes.  They  adopt 
all  these  tactics  because  in  this  way  they  can 


128         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

keep  control  of  the  government.  We  would 
think  that  these  public  officials  would  either 
throw  the  passes  away  or  else  defend  the  passes 
and  insist  that  they  do  not  unduly  influence 
them,  and  that  they  are  not  bribes.  If  these 
public  officials  retain  the  passes  and  cling  to 
the  system  they  certainly  owe  it  to  the  voters, 
who  have  honored  them  with  honorable  posi- 
tions, to  defend  their  actions.  The  people  are 
entitled  to  know  just  what  they  have  a  right 
to  expect  from  their  public  servants.  No  pub- 
lic official  having  self-respect  will  carry  in  his 
pockets  the  evidence  of  a  conspiracy  against 
his  state  government,  into  which  he  has  entered, 
without  giving  reason  or  justification  for  his 
con  duct. 

The  Nebraska  people  today  are  asking  the 
governor,  the  state  officers,  the  members  of  the 
legislature,  the  judges  of  our  courts,  the  con- 
gressmen and  the  United  States  senators  of  the 
state :  "Can  you  as  servants  of  the  people  justify 
yourselves  in  carrying  free  railroad  transporta- 
tion, which  is  of  money  value  to  you,  pending 
the  great  issue  that  is  now  on  between  the 
people  of  Nebraska  and  the  railroads  of  Ne- 
braska ?"  Tf  these  public  officials  remain  silent, 
does  that  not  mean  that  the  fr^e  pass  cannot 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         129 

be  defended,  or  else  that  they  have  deliberately 
tfken  their  stand  with  the  corporations  and  are 
ready  to  take  the  consequences  ?  In  their  own 
minds  have  they  not  concluded  that  they  will 
remain  loyal  to  the  corporations  and  deceive 
the  people?  If  these  officials  answer  that  the 
people  are  right  and  that  the  state  press  is 
right  and  that  the  free  pass  is  a  bribe,  then  it 
would  be  showing  only  proper  respect  for  pub- 
lic sentiment  and  for  public  decency,  for  these 
high  officials,  whom  I  have  designated,  and  for 
all  other  pass  holding  officials  in  the  state,  to 
gather  at  the  state  house,  and  there,  in  the 
presence  of  witnesses,  burn  their  passes  and 
purge  the  state  of  the  disgrace  that  now  rests 
upon  its  government. 

What  we  need  is  some  of  the  old  time  in- 
dependence,— some  of  the  old  time  patriotism. 
Some  years  ago  when  the  people  of  Kansas  had 
paid  their  indebtedness  to  the  Eastern  money 
lenders  they  gathered  at  the  state  capitol,  and 
there  with  ceremony  and  exultation  they  burned 
the  evidences  of  their  former  obligations.  They 
had  freed  themselves  from  obligation.  They 
celebrated  their  independence.  If  pass  hold- 
ing is  wrong  and  if  the  free  pass  bribes,  then 
all  pass  holding  officials  in  Nebraska  should  at 


ISO         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

once  follow  in  the  foot-steps  of  these  Kansas 
patriots. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  republic  men  stood 
out  boldly  before  the  people  on  the  public  issues. 
Calhoun  believed  in  state's  rights.  "Webster 
believed  in  an  indissoluable  union.  Each  de- 
fended his  doctrine,  and  the  issue  was  fought 
out  before  the  people  on  its  merits.  Calhoun 
was  wrong,  but  he  did  not  dodge  the  issue  or 
conceal  his  position.  If  Webster  and  Calhoun 
had  been  of  the  modern  type  of  politicians,  they 
would  have  dodged  the  real  issue  and  tried  to 
deceive  the  people,  and  the  people  would  have 
been  at  an  utter  loss  to  know  how  to  vote.  In 
the  early  days  of  the  republic,  however,  men 
stood  for  principle,  while  today  too  many  men 
in  public  life  are  simply  playing  the  game  of 
politics  so  that  they  may  win  the  offices. 

The  question  of  state's  rights  in  another 
form  is  up  for  solution  in  Nebraska.  The  ques- 
tion is  whether  the  people  of  Nebraska  shall 
control  their  own  state  government,  or  whether 
it  shall  be  dictated  from  Wall  Street.  Wliether 
we  belive  it  or  not,  this  is  the  real  issue  that 
confronts  us.  The  real  head  of  the  railroads  is 
in  Wall  Street.  Nebraska  railroad  agents  sim- 
ply reflect  the  will  and  the  wishes  of  the  man- 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         181 

agement  in  Wall  Street.  If  we  had  the  Web- 
ster and  Calhoun  type  of  statesmen,  there  would 
be,  no  trouble  about  the  issue  or  the  outcome  of 
the  struggle.  The  real  difficulty,  however,  that 
confronts  the  people,  is  to  know  who  are  the 
real  Wall  Street  representatives  and  who  are 
the  people's  representatives. 

In  the  future  all  over  the  state  men  will 
aspire  to  public  office  whose  candidacy  will  be 
groomed  by  the  railroads,  and  they  will  get 
their  inspiration  from  Wall  Street  headquar- 
ters. Many  of  these  will  make  loud  professions 
claiming  to  be  the  friends  of  the  people  and  the 
people  will  rally  to  their  support,  not  knowing 
that  these  men  have  already  pledged  them- 
selves body  and  soul  to  the  corporations,  and 
will  be  their  faithful  servants  when  they  are 
elected.  This  is  the  real  problem  that  con- 
fronts the  people.  The  people  must  be  wise  in 
this  regard  and  see  to  it  that  men  honestly 
in  sympathy  with  them  are  nominated  and 
elected  to  the  offices,  and  see  to  it  that  no  de- 
ceiver or  pretender  will  slip  past  them  on  elec- 
tion day.  If  any  candidate  slips  into  the  nom- 
ination who  is  not  a  friend  to  the  people,  the 
people  should  see  to  it  that  he  is  defeated  on 
election  day,  no  matter  to  which  political  party 


132         Tli  c  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


he  belongs.  It  will,  in  many  cases,  be  difficult 
to  know  postively  about  each  candidate.  I  be- 
lieve, however,  that  if  the  people  will  always 
inquire  and  find  out  about  the  free  passes  in 
the  candidate's  pockets  that  this  will  be  the 
surest  sign  and  will  point  unerringly  to  the 
fact  whether  he  is  a  representative  of  the  cor- 
poration or  not.  A  man  who  has  never  accepted 
free  passes,  and  who  long  before  he  became  a 
candidate,  has  not  been  under  any  obligations 
to  the  railroads,  will  very  likely  be  a  truer  repre- 
sentative of  the  people  than  the  man  wh^i  has 
been,  through  all  the  years  that  are  gone,  the 
recipient  of  favors  in  the  form  of  passes  from 
the  railroads.  This  is  the  surest  sign  by  which 
you  can  tell.  If  there  is  a  better  sign  I  would 
like  to  know  what  it  is. 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

GOVERNMENT   IS   A   MATTER   OP   POLITICS. 

It  is  a  common  tiling  to  hear  men  compli- 
ment themselves  with  the  statement  that  they 
have  nothing  to  do  with  politics.  The  man 
who  makes  such  a  statement  generally  does  so 
without  realizing  what  the  statement  means. 
When  a  citizen  denounces  politics  in  general 
and  undertakes  to  seat  himself  upon  a  pin- 
nacle of  respectability,  by  isolating  himself  from 
the  politics  and  politicians  of  his  ward,  city, 
county  or  state,  he  marks  himself  down  lower 
in  the  scale  of  manly  character  than  he  realizes. 

Politics  is  government.  Whatever  the  in- 
dividual citizen  does  for  his  government,  he 
must  do  through  politics.  Everything  in  the 
government  has  its  starting  point  in  politics. 

At  the  county  seat  wre  see  the  county  gov- 
ernment going  on  in  its  work  from  vear  to 
year  without  halt  or  intermission  like  a  well 
planned  piece  of  machinery.  But  this  piece  of 
government  machinery  was  not  made  by  these 


184         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

men  who  are  now  operating  it  at  the  county 
seat.  This  county  governmental  machine  was 
made  through  politics,  through  the  political  ac- 
tion of  the  voters  of  the  county,  each  contribut- 
ing his  part.  And  if  this  governmental  machine, 
in  its  structure  and  operation,  is  not  a  composite 
result  of  the  judgment  and  the  will  of  the 
voters  of  the  county,  it  is  because  a  part  of 
the  voters  failed  to  put  their  judgment  and 
their  will  into  the  machine  when  it  was  made. 
If  thf-  county  government  is  a  ring-rule  govern- 
ment and  does  not  represent  the  interests  of 
the  tax  payers,  it  is  because  the  tax  payers 
failed  to  represent  themselves  by  independent 
and  energetic  action  in  the  county  politics.  It 
is  bad  for  the  local  government  of  a  city,  town 
or  county  when  the  tax  payers  allow  local  poli- 
tics to  drift  into  the  control  of  professional  dele- 
gates and  self-interested  political  leaders. 

The  city  government  of  Lincoln,  for  ex- 
ample, is  always  as  good  as  the  Lincoln  people 
deserve.  If  the  better  part  of  the  people  fail 
to  do  their  share  in  constructing  and  shaping 
the  government,  it  is  sure  to  fail  to  that  extent 
ao  a  representative  government.  ISTo  citizen  can 
represent  another  in  government.  Each  citizen 
must   represent  himself.      If   the   city  govern- 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         135 

merit  is  bad,  that  means  that  bad  energy  is  put 
into  the  politics  which  precedes  the  govern- 
ment, and  if  the  government  as  it  is  carried  on 
is  not  representative,  that  means  that  the  politics 
which  preceded  the  government  was  not  rep- 
resentative. If  there  is  ring  rule  at  the  county 
seat,  if  there  is  collusion,  fraud  and  extrav- 
agance in  the  bridge  contracts,  if  the  county 
officers  are  over-reaching  in  their  fee  lists,  if 
the  tax  levy  is  over-high,  if  the  individual  as- 
sessments are  full  of  discrimination  and  injus- 
tice, if  the  county  funds  are  recklessly  squan- 
dered, if  the  public  service  at  the  court  house 
is  poor,  if  political  grafters  and  ward  heelers 
are  maintained  upon  the  county  pay  roll,  if  all 
these  conditions  exist,  no  tax  payer,  whether 
hr>  be  farmer,  banker,  laboring  man  or  business 
man,  has  a  right  to  complain,  unless  he  has 
put  his  vote  and  his  personal  influence  into  the 
primaries  and  caucuses  at  which  this  county 
government  got  its  starting  point. 

The  great  mass  of  the  people  fail  in  their 
duty  right  at  the  starting  point.  There  can 
bo  no  such  thing  as  bad  government  without 
the  consent  of  the  better  element  of  the  people. 
The  better  element  is  in  the  majority.  Not  only 
are  the  better  people  in  the  majority,  but  their 


186         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

cause  is  better  and  they  can  exert  more  force 
if  they  put  their  energy  and  action  into  the 
better  cause.  If  the  people  of  Lincoln  permit 
the  slum  bosses  to  manage  the  city  politics,  that 
means  slum  government.  If  there  is  ring  rule 
at  the  county  seat,  that  means  that  there  is 
ring  rule  in  the  politics  of  the  wards  and  country 
precincts.  King  rule  in  these  several  primary 
departments  of  county  politics  means  that  the 
better  element  of  the  people,  both  in  the  city 
and  in  the  country,  are  voluntarily  surrender- 
ing their  rights  and  cheating  the  county  gov- 
ernment out  of  the  moral  obligations  which  arc 
justly  due  from  them. 

Everything  that  is  in  the  government  is  put 
there  by  men.  When  the  Burlington  railroad 
emj^loys  skilled  workmen  at  the  shops  in  Have- 
lock,  it  gets  good  engines,  and  the  traveling 
public  gets  safety  from  accidents.  The  honesty 
and  skill  of  the  workmen  employed  determines 
the  character  of  the  engines  which  they  con- 
struct. If  the  general  manager  of  the  Burling- 
ton should  employ  personal  favorites  and 
grafters,  as  purchasing  agents,  superintendents 
and  foremen  at  these  shops,  the  result  would  be 
poorly  constructed  machinery,  and  that  would 
mean  ultimately  unsafe ty  to  the  traveling  pub- 


The  Free  Fass  Bribery  System.         137 

lie  and  loss  of  business  to  the  corporation. 

The  men  who  make  the  laws  naturally  make 
such  laws  as  are  wanted  by  the  influences  which 
put  them  into  the  law  making  body.  The  con- 
gressman from  the  First  Congressional  District, 
where  the  City  of  Lincoln  is  the  dominating- 
power  in  the  political  conventions  of  the  district, 
naturally  submits  to  the  dictation  of  the  Bur- 
lington railroad,  because  the  people  of  Lincoln, 
by  their  inaction  at  the  ward  caucuses  and  pri 
maries,  permit  the  Burlington  railroad  to  police 
and  control  the  politics  of  Lincoln.  The  ward 
caucuses  and  primaries  of  the  City  of  Lincoln 
are  the  starting  points  of  congressional  power  in 
the  First  Congressional  District.  The  City  of 
Lincoln  is  the  stronghold.  It  is  for  the  voters  of 
Lincoln  to  protect  that  stronghold  at  all  hazards. 
If  they  surrender  it  to  the  corporations,  that 
means  the  surrender  of  the  entire  district.  And 
after  the  people  of  Lincoln  have  surrendered  this 
stronghold,  it  avails  but  little  for  the  newspapers 
and  the  freight  robbed  citizens  to  complain  that 
their  interests  are  not  represented  at  Washing- 
ton. It  is  too  much  to  expect  of  the  representa- 
tive that  he  should  be  mindful  of  the  people 
when  the  people  have  not  been  mindful  of  him. 
What  right  has  the  freight  robbed  public  to 


138         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


expect  loyal  service  from  a  member  of  congress, 
"who  owes  his  election  to  a  starting  point  where 
only  ten  per  cent  of  the  voters  participate  ?  Is 
it  not  perfectly  logical  that  lie  should  consult 
the  wishes  of  this  small  fraction  of  the  people  'i 
And  if  this  ten  per  cent  is  under  the  control 
of  The  Free  Pass  System,  is  it  not  perfectly 
logical  that  the  congressman  should  also  be  un- 
der the  control  of  the  free  pass  organization 
and  of  the  railroads  which  furnish  the  free 
passes? 

The  obligations  of  the  citizen  to  his  govern- 
ment are  two-fold.  There  is  a  money  obliga- 
tion and  a  moral  obligation.  The  money  ob- 
ligation is  discharged  when  the  citizen  pays  his 
taxes.  The  moral  obligation  is  discharged  when 
he  puts  his  vote  and  the  full  weight  of  his  per- 
sonality into  the  political  machinery  of  the 
government.  The  citizen  pays  his  taxes  but 
once  a  year.  But  the  moral  obligation  cannot 
be  discharged  by  the  single  act  of  voting  at  the 
annual  election.  The  obligation  to  give  the 
government  moral  support  rests  upon  him  con- 
tinually from  day  to  day  and  from  year  to 
year.  Always  there  should  flow  continuously, 
into  the  central  power  of  the  government,  the 
individual  force  of  every  citizen.     If  but  one 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         1S9 

single  citizen  fails  at  this  point,  the  govern- 
ment lacks  just  that  much  of  being  a  representa- 
tive government.  But  when  ninety  per  cent 
of  the  citizens  fail  at  this  point,  as  they  some- 
times do  in  the  City  of  Lincoln  and  at  many 
other  places  in  the  state  and  over  the  country, 
then  the  result  is  a  serious  matter,  especially 
when  this  ten  per  cent  of  active  citizens  is 
organized  under  the  control  of  the  corporations. 

Men  put  too  much  stress  on  the  fact  that 
they  pay  their  taxes.  The  moral  support  which 
the  citizen  owes  is  of  more  value  and  of  more 
importance  than  taxes.  There  is  no  particular 
virtue  or  patriotism  in  paying  taxes.  The  tax 
is  an  obligation  against  the  property  of  the 
citizen,  and  not  against  his  conscience  and  his 
manhood.  The  government  needs  the  weight 
and  the  integrity  of  every  man  put  into  public 
sentiment,  for  the  government  will  never  be 
on  any  higher  plane  than  that  of  the  active  and 
forceful  public  sentiment  upon  which  it  rests. 

It  is  an  uncertain  compliment  which  the 
dignified  citizen  pays  to  himself  when  he  boasts 
of  his  isolation  from  local  politics. 


Reply  to  a  Railroad  Lobbyist 


At  a  Club  Meeting  Held  in  Lincoln  During  the 
Winter  of  1904-05,  a  Railroad  Lobbyist  Discussed 
the  Free  Pass  Question.  Mr.  Berge  Read  a  Paper 
Condemning  the  Whole  System.  In  Part  the 
Paper  is  Here  Given. 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         14-3 


CHAPTER  XX. 

REPLY    TO    A    RAILROAD    LOBBYIST. 

In  discussing  The  Free  Pass  System,  and 
railroads  in  general,  we  must  keep  in  mind  that 
railroads  are  chartered  and  created  to  serve  the 
people.  The  people  should  be  the  master  and 
the  railroads  their  servants.  The  railroads 
should  be  compelled  to  serve  the  people  for  the 
mutual  advantage  of  the  stockholders  and  the 
shippers.  They  should  be  operated  so  as  to 
promote  equal  industry.  They  should  give  all 
shippers  equality  in  service  and  equality  in 
rates.  Business  opportunities  should  be  open 
to  every  man  alike.  The  product  of  each  farm 
and  each  factory  should  have  opportunities  for 
distribution  on  the  same  terms  and  at  the  same 
rates  that  other  like  products  pay.  Commodities 
are  in  competition  with  each  other  just  as  men 
are.  Each  in  its  competition  with  the  other  is 
entitled  tc  equal  opportunity.  Nebraska,  farmers 
and  shippers  are  entitled  to  the  same  rates  that 
Iowa   and   Kansas  farmers   and   shippers  get. 


lit  It         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

One  man  is  as  good  as  another  in  the  eyes  of  the 
state,  and  should  be  so  treated  by  the  corpora- 
tions which  are  under  the  control  of  the  state. 
Each  city  has  the  same  business  rights  that 
other  cities  have.  The  rights  of  the  small  busi- 
ness man  are  as  much  entitled  to  respect  as  the 
rights  of  the  large  business  man.  In  short, 
the  railroads  should  serve  all  the  people  alike. 

But  they  do  not.  Look  at  the  facts.  In- 
stead of  the  public  being  the  master  and  the 
railroads  the  servant,  the  relation  is  exactly 
reversed.  The  railroads  are  our  masters,  not 
only  in  politics,  but  in  business.  They  do  not 
serve  us;  we  serve  them.  Waller  Wellman  in 
a  recent  article  in  a  magazine  called  "Success" 
says,  that  the  railroads  in  at  least  one-third  of 
the  states  of  the  union  are  absolutely  in  con- 
trol, and  are  running  the  state  government  with- 
out any  real  interference  from  the  people. 

In  these  states  the  railroads  elect  the  offi- 
cials or  enough  of  them  to  control  the  whole 
state  government.  They  charge  just  such  rates 
as  they  want  to.  They  charge  each  commodity 
all  it  will  bear.  They  treat  the  passenger  busi- 
ness with  the  same  unfairness.  They  make  one 
passenger  pay  while  the  other  who  demands  a 
free  ride  gets  it.     Tho  railroads  fix  the  tax  rate 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         1^5 


on  the  people's  property  and  on  their  own 
property.  They  make  governors,  United  States 
senators  and  members  of  Congress,  and  they 
unmake  them  whenever  it  suits  their  purpose. 

They  say  whether  the  '.Nebraska  farmer  shall 
sell  his  fruit  or  whether  it  shall  rot  under  the 
trees.  They  determine  whether  the  JSTebraskan 
shall  sell  his  corn  or  burn  it  for  fuel.v  They 
make  this  industry  live  and  prosper  while  they 
cause  that  industry  to  die.  These  railroads  pass 
sentence  on  every  undertaking  whether  it  shall 
succeed  or  fail.  They  seem  to  be  the  masters 
of  destiny.  They  can  and  they  do  make  one 
city  grow  while  they  strike  its  competitor  with 
the  paralysis  of  death.  They  build  up  party 
bosses  in  politics.  The  citizen  who  favors  them 
rides  free  while  the  independent  man  who  op- 
poses tbem  must  pay  the  highest  possible  rate. 
The  poor  woman  pays  more  in  order  that  the 
insolent  party  boss  may  pay  nothing.  They 
build  a  road  for  five  millions,  capitalize  it  for 
ten  millions,  sell  the  stock  at  par,  put  five 
millions  in  their  pockets  as  net  profits,  then 
tax  the  patrons  to  pay  interest  on  ten  millions. 

These  railroads  act  as  the  business  agents 
and  promoters  of  trusts.  They  handicap  the 
ordinary  shipper  by  giving  the  trust  a  better 
secret  rate. 


1J{6         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

The  Nebraska  farmers  received  an  average 
of  thirty  cents  for  their  corn  in  1902,  while 
the  Kansas  farmers  received  thirty-four  cents. 
The  railroads  made  this  difference  in  value  by 
the  difference  in  rates.  The  Nebraska  farmer 
received  forty-nine  cents  for  his  spring  wheat 
while  the  Kansas  farmer  received  fifty-five 
cents.  This  difference  of  six  cents  a  bushel 
was  caused  by  the  extortionate  rates  in  Ne- 
braska. In  Nebraska  oats  brought  twenty-five 
cents  while  Kansas  oats  brought  thirty  cents. 
Eye  sold  for  thirty-six  cents  in  Nebraska  while 
it  brought  forty-five  cents  in  Kansas.  All  this 
handicap  against  the  Nebraska  farmer  is  on 
account  of  freight  rate  discrimination  against 
this  state. 

It  means  that  railroad  greed  goes  unshackled 
ir.  Nebraska.  There  is  no  control  of  the  rail- 
roads by  our  state  government.  They  do  with 
us  and  our  business  whatever  they  please  to 
do,  and  whatever  we  can  stand.  Our  people 
cry  out  for  relief  but  there  is  no  ear  at  the  state 
house  to  hear. 

-  How  do  the  railroads  get  this  power  over 
us  and  our  affairs  ?  You  know  the  answer ;  we 
all  know  it;  they  get  control  of  us  because  they 
control  our  officials.     They  buv  them  with  their 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         lJf.1 


free  passes.  They  buy  them  and  we  do  not 
know  it.  The  free  pass  is  insidious  in  its  deadly 
work  upon  the  morality  of  men.  If  the  peo- 
ple knew  the  power  that  it  exerts  they  would 
organize  their  politics  against  it  and  strike  it 
down.  The  little  pink  slip  looks  innocent  and 
harmless  when  the  pass  holder  shows  it  to  the 
conductor  in  lieu  of  money.  Some  call  it  a 
"courtesy,"  but  its  real  name  is  bribe.  It  is 
an  enemy  to  free  government. 

5f  a  foreign  foe  should  invade  any  state 
in  this  union  to  oppress  its  citizens,  the  whole 
power  of  our  mighty  nation  would  be  exerted 
in  their  defense.  But  what  power  can  defend 
us  as  a  state  against  a  corrupting  bribing  sys- 
tem, if  we  do  not  defend  ourselves.  The  Ameri- 
can people  have  no  fear  of  any  outward  foe. 
The  danger  is  from  secret  influences  that  work 
among  our  people  corrupting  the  fountains  of 
government  and  authority.  If  our  great  gov- 
ernment and  the  splendid  fabric  of  Christian 
civilization  that  we  have  established,  ever 
crumbles,  it  will  be  because  of  moral  decadence. 
It  will  be  because  of  corruption  and  bribery. 
It  will  be  because  the  common  people  are  sold 
out  by  the  men  who. are  put  up  as  their  repre- 
sentatives in  the  state. 


1J/8         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

Nebraska  public  officials,  with  very  few  ex- 
ceptions, are  free  pass  holders.  Our  governors, 
state  officers,  members  of  the  legislature,  judges 
of  our  courts,  mayors  of  our  cities,  members  of 
our  city  councils,  members  of  congress,  United 
States  senators,  practically  all  of  the  influential 
men,  who  are  active  in  our  politics  and  public 
affairs,  are  in  this  favored  class  who  ride  with- 
out pay. 

I  do  not  say  that  every  man  who  accepts 
free  transportation  is  bribed  thereby.  But  I 
do  say  that  the  effect  of  the  free  passes  among 
our  leading  citizens  causes  them  to  remain  sil- 
ent. They  do  not  defend  the  state  in  its  strug- 
gle against  railroad  domination.  By  the  dis- 
tribution of  these  free  passes  the  railroads  pur- 
chase immunity  from  all  these  men. 

Let  me  put  it  another  way.  You  show  me 
a  man  who  courageously  opposes  railroad  dom- 
ination in  politics,  and  I  will  show  you  a  man 
whose  name  is  not  on  the  free  pass  list.  The 
free  pass  is  withheld  from  the  independent  and 
outspoken  citizen.  The  lawyer,  who  takes  cases 
against  the  railroads  and  prosecutes  them  vigor- 
ourly,  is  not  a  free  pass  holder.  The  free  pass 
stands  between  the  people  and  their  govern- 
ment. 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         149 

I  hear  a  good  deal  said  about  issues  lately. 
There  is  but  one  prominent  issue  in  this  state, 
and  that  is  whether  the  railroads  or  the  people 
shall  rule.  Government  ownership  of  railroads 
may  be  the  ultimate  solution,  but  until  that 
day  comes,  the  railroads  must  be  controlled. 
The  people  must  hold  on  to  the  spirit  as  well  as 
the  form  of  representative  government,  and  to 
this  end  The  Fr&o  Pass  System  should  be  de- 
stroyed. 


Speech  ea  Anti=Pass  Bill 


During  the  Nebraska  Legislative  session  of  1904- 
1905,  Mr.  Berge  framed  and  had  introduced 
in  the  House  of  Representatives,  an  Anti-Pass 
Bill.  He  appeared  before  the  committee  on  rail- 
roads and  advocated  the  passage  of  the  bill.  The 
bill  was  treated  with  contempt  and  met  instant 
death.  The  hearing  took  place  with  lobbyists 
representing  the  railroads  occupying  front  seats. 
Mr.  Berge  delivered  the  following  forceful  and 
impassioned  speech. 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         153 


CHAPTEE  XXI. 

SPEECH    ON   ANTI-PASS    BILL, 

Gentlemen  of  the  Committee:  I  am  obliged 
to  you  for  your  courtesy  in  permitting 
me  to  come  before  you  and  urge  the  passage 
of  House  Bill  ISTo.  239,  the  anti-pass  bill,  now 
under  consideration  by  this  committee.  I  think 
you  will  agree  with  me  that  the  people  of  Ne- 
braska are  tired  of  the  free  pass.  It  seems  to 
me  there  can  be  no  controversy  on  that  point. 
And  if  the  people  are  tired  of  it,  it  must  be 
because  it  is  bad  for  the  people,  and  if  it  is 
bad  for  the  people,  it  ought  to  be  destroyed. 
And  the  only  way  to  destroy  it,  to  stop  the  is- 
suance and  acceptance  of  free  passes,  is  through 
a  legislative  enactment.  And  before  there  can 
be  a  legislative  enactment,  there  must  be  a  bill, 
and  that  bill  must  be  considered  before  the  com- 
mittee on  railroads.  So  right  here  we  are  at  the 
commencement  point  where  the  destruction  of 
the  free  pass  ought  to  begin. 

I  hope  this  committee  will  not  embarrass 


154-        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


this  question  by  thinking  of  it  as  a  partisan 
matter.  To  destroy  this  free  pass  system  in 
Nebraska  is  certainly  not  a  partisan  matter.  It 
was  not  considered  a  partisan  matter  down  in 
Missouri  to  destroy  the  bribery  system  they  had 
there. 

I  believe  that  the  republican  voters  of  this 
state,  outside  of  the  pass  holders  themselves, 
are  practically  unanimous  in  the  desire  to  have 
this  bill,  or  some  other  bill  that  will  do  away 
with  this  evil,  passed  by  this  legislature.  I 
drew  this  bill  practically  in  its  present  form 
a  few  weeks  after  the  election  last  fall.  I  gave 
this  bill  to  Mr.  Harmon,  who,  by  the  way,  is 
a  republican  member.  He  told  me  that  he 
would  be  glad  to  introduce  it,  and,  as  I  under- 
stand it,  he  did  introduce  it.  And  now  if  this 
committee  will  recommend  it  for  passage,  it 
will  probably  pass  and  Mr.  Harmon  will  be 
entitled  to  credit,  the  committee  will  be  entitled 
to  credit,  the  whole  legislative  body  will  be  en- 
titled to  credit,  and  the  whole  republican  party 
in  this  state  and  all  the  people  of  ISTebraska 
will  feel  that  the  state  is  more  respectable  and 
that  its  government  is  on  a  higher  plane  when 
The  Free  Pass  System  is  abolished  by  law. 

Gentlemen  of  the  Committee,  I  would  like 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         155 

to  discuss  this  pass  question  under  three  differ- 
ent heads. 

1.  That  the  free  pass  is  unjust  and  un- 
lawful discrimination. 

2.  That  it  is  a  bribery  system. 

3.  That  the  acceptance  of  it  by  any  offi- 
cial is  a  violation  of  the  oath  which  every  legis- 
lative member,  every  state  official  and  every 
judge  in  this  state  must  take  on  entering  his 
office. 

(1.)  That  the  Free  Pass  is  Unjust  and  Unlaw- 
ful   Discrimination. 

I  think  we  all  agree  that  the  principle  of 
discrimination  is  wrong.  Each  man  should  have 
an  equal  show,  not  only  in  business,  but  in  the 
exercise  of  his  rights  and  his  influence  as  a  citi- 
zen. It  should  be  made  a  criminal  offense  for 
the  railroads  to  charge  a  part  of  the  people  who 
ride  and  let  the  other  part  ride  free.  The 
railroads  do  business  under  the  constiution  of 
the  state,  at  least  that  is  the  theory.  The  state 
is  therefore  both  legally  and  morally  responsible 
for  seeing  to  it  that  each  citizen  is  charged  the 
same  fare  for  riding  on  the  trains.  I  don't 
know  how  you  look  at  it,  gentlemen  of  the  com- 
mittee, but  it  seems  to  me  that  the  state  is  as 


156         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

much  responsible  ^or  the  treatment  of  passen- 
gers, who  ride  on  the  railroad  trains  of  this 
state,  as  if  the  state  owned  the  railroads.  The 
state  could  not,  if  it  owned  the  railroads,  charge 
one  man  three  cents  and  another  man  only  two 
cents  per  mile.  This  would  be  discrimination 
and  would  be  contrary  to  the  constitution  which 
guarantees  equal  rights  to  all  and  special  privi- 
leges to  none.  Neither  could  the  state  charge 
one  man  three  cents  per  mile  and  allow  another 
man  to  ride  free.  This  system  of  discrimina- 
tion would  be  class  legislation,  for  it  would 
build  up  a  free  class  and  a  paying  class.  If 
the  state  would  undertake  to  do  a  thing  so  un- 
fair as  that  in  the  transportation  business,  or  in 
any  other  line  of  business  over  which  it  had 
control,  the  people  would  cry  out  with  one 
united  voice  that  the  state  government  was  op- 
pressive, and  there  would  be  a  revolution  un- 
less the  injustice  was  removed. 

Now  if  we  admit,  as  I  think  we  all  do,  that 
the  state  government  is  responsible  for  what 
the  railroads  do,  then  this  Free  Pass  System 
by  which  a  part  of  the  people  are  permitted 
to  ride  free  while  the  other  part  are  required 
to  pay  is  discrimination,  and  it  seems  to  me 
to  be  the  plain  duty  of  the  lawmaking  body 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         157 


of  the  state  to  enact  a  law  that  will  stop  this 
discrimination. 

It   is   a   serious  thing   for   a   state  govern- 
ment  to   sanction   by    silence    and    inaction    a 
rank  injustice  like  this.     Every  citizen  of  Ne- 
braska is  guaranteed  justice  under  the  consti- 
tution of  the  United  States.      If  the  govern- 
ment of  Nebraska  sanctions  discrimination  in 
business  between  its  citizens,  it  is  out  of  har- 
mony   with    the    constitution    of    the    United 
States.      This   legislature    has    already   placed 
itself  on  record  as  supporting  the  President  of 
the  United  States  in  his  attitude  against  freight 
discrimination.     In  the  early  part  of  the  ses- 
sion your  legislative  body,  gentlemen,   passed 
a  resolution   endorsing  the   President.      What 
are  the  people  of  the  state  to  understand  by 
this?    Do  you  mean  to  say  that  you  endorse 
President    Koosevelt    on    his    attitude    against 
discrimination  in  freight  rates,  while  you,  as 
the  lawmakers  for  Nebraska  people,   sanction 
discrimination  in  passenger  rates?    A  part  of 
our  citizens  pay  while  the  other  part  ride  free. 
Is  that  right,  gentlemen?    And  is  it  right  for 
the   state  government   to   endorse   this   and  to 
continue  to  endorse  it  from  year  to  year?    If 
you  allow  this  legislative  session  to  pass  with- 


158         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

out  the  enactment  of  a  law  abolishing  dis- 
crimination in  passenger  rates  in  this  state, 
what  then  becomes  of  the  resolution  which 
your  body  has  passed  commending  President 
Roosevelt?  If  you  commend  the  President  for 
striking  out  boldly  against  discrimination, 
how  then  can  you  remain  passive  with  this  dis- 
crimination here  at  home  among  our  own  peo- 
ple, under  our  own  state  government,  stand- 
ing up  hero  like  a  mountain  peak  so  that  all 
the  nation  can  see  it?  It  is  enough  to  bring 
the  blush  of  shame  to  the  face  of  every  ~Ne- 
braskan  when  he  sees  the  state  government 
tolerating  a  wrong  that  is  offensive  to  every 
sense  of  justice  and  fairness  between  men.  I 
spent  the  last  two  nights  upon  a  passenger 
train.  At  ten  o'clock  at  night  just  back  of  the 
smoker  I  saw  poor  women  with  their  babies 
restless  and  uncomfortable.  These  women 
were  too  poor  to  pay  the  extravagant  price  for 
a  Pullman  bed  in  which  they  could  sleep.  The 
next  morning  I  saw  those  same  anxious  faces. 
They  showed  that  they  had  had  no  rest  or 
sleep.  These  Avomen  paid  their  fares.  There 
was  no  mercy  or  favoritism  shown  to  them 
when  they  bought  their  tickets.  But  in  the 
Pullman  cars  were  a  number  of  well-to-do  men 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         159 


who  paid  nothing  to  ride  on  the  train  nor  to 
sleep  in  the  Pullman  berths.  Is  there  a  man 
on  this  committee  who  will  say  that  this  is 
right?  Can  you  defend  this,  gentlemen?  And 
will  you  defend  it  instead  of  defending  this 
bill  when  you  make  your  report  to  the  legis- 
lature ?  This  bill  does  not  propose  that  the 
poor  women  and  children  shall  ride  free.  It 
proposes  only  that  the  well-to-do  shall  pay.  It 
demands  that  there  shall  be  no  discrimination. 
The  discrimination  of  The  Free  Pass  Sys- 
tem would  not  be  so  offensive  to  our  sense  of 
justice  if  the  discrimination  was  against  the 
rich  and  in  favor  of  the  poor.  If  our  rail- 
reads  would  give  the  people  of  small  means 
a  free  ride  or  a  lower  rate,  it  would  be  dis- 
crimination to  be  sure,  but  it  would  be  the  kind 
of  discrimination  that  all  Christian  governments 
are  supposed  to  encourage.  But,  gentlemen  of 
the  committee,  it  is  the  well-to-do  man  who 
can  afford  to  pay  his  fare  who  is  the  bene- 
ficiary of  The  Pree  Pass  System.  Along  with 
the  well-to-do  man,  the  banker,  the  lawyer  and 
the  wealthy  shipper,  comes  the  professional 
politician,  the  professional  lobbyist  and  bribe 
distributor.  These  instruments  of  corporation 
power  are  the  pets  of  The  Free  Pass  System. 


1 60         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

Shame  on  us  as  a  state  that  such  men  as  these 
are  set  up  bj  the  insolent  corporations  as  a 
favored  class  with  free  rides  and  free  beds  at 
night,  while  poor  men  and  women  and  inno- 
cent helpless  children  are  taxed  for  the  luxu- 
rious ease  which  this  other  class  enjoys. 

Gentlemen  of  the  committee,  it  may  be  that 
seme  of  you  are  lawyers.  If  so,  you  know  that 
a  great  many  of  the  lawyers  of  this  state  have 
a  graft  in  this  Free  Pass  System.  Some  of 
us  who  pay  when  we  ride  have  occasion  to 
realize  the  advantage  that  the  free  pass  is  to 
the  lawyer.  The  lawyer  who  has  free  trans- 
portation can  travel.  He  can  make  many  trips 
during  the  year,  from  one  part  of  the  state 
t^  another,  to  consult  with  witnesses,  to  take 
depositions,  and  in  this  he  has  a  decided  ad- 
vantage over  the  lawyer  who  must  pay  good 
money  for  every  mile  he  rides.  Clients  un- 
derstand this  advantage.  Many  of  them  na- 
turally seek  out  the  attorney  who  has  free 
transportation.  The  free  pass  means  influence. 
It  has  a  pull.  The  free  pass  holding  lawyer 
has  a  wide  acquaintance.  He  knows  all  the 
judges  of  the  state,  and  is  it  disrespectful  to 
the  courts  to  say  that  the  annual  pass  is  a  bond 
of  union  between  lawyers  and  judges  just  as 


ONE  WHO  NEVER  PAYS  WHEN  HE  RIDES. 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         161 

it  is  between  politicians  ?  But  I  do  not  mean 
to  arraign  the  legal  profession  especially  for 
its  intimate  connection  with  this  Free  Pass 
System.  The  discrimination  of  the  free  pass 
i3  found  in  every  branch  of  trade  and  busi- 
ness. It  helps  the  one  man  in  business  and 
hinders  the  other  man,  his  competitor.  It 
makes  the  race  between  the  two  unequal. 

We  are  all  striving  to  get  along  in  our 
affairs  here  in  Nebraska.  We  work  hard.  We 
work  too  hard.  We  need  more  rest  than  we 
get.  When  the  hot  summer  comes  we  are  tired 
out  and  we  hurry  away  to  the  mountains  and 
lakes  for  fresh  air  and  rest.  Right  at  this 
point  The  Free  Pass  System  comes  in  with 
its  discrimination  and  its  heartaches.  The 
railroad  pets  ride  free.  It  is  a  familiar  sight 
to  us,  here  in  Lincoln,  to  see  these  old  time 
chronic  pass  holders  with  their  families,  their 
relatives  and  their  friends,  grouping  themselves 
together  and  riding  away  on  free  passes  to  en- 
joy the  summer  outing.  ISTow,  as  I  said  be- 
fore, if  the  poor  who  are  most  in  need  of 
fresh  air  and  rest  and  sightseeing,  if  they 
were  the  ones  who  were  riding  free,  the  dis- 
crimination would  be  less  offensive.  But  gen- 
tlemen, the  higher  conscience  of  this  state  and 


162         The  Free  Fass  Bribery  System. 

the  public  sentiment  that  is  now  pressing  upon 
you  for  the  enactment  of  this  law,  is  not  ask- 
ing for  free  transportation  for  the  poor.  The 
people  are  not  asking  for  a  law  that  will 
give  free  rides  to  the  poor,  but  they  are  ask- 
ing you  for  a  law  that  will  make  every  man 
pay.  They  want  all  discrimination  to  stop. 
Gentlemen,  no  man  can  appear  before  this 
committee  and  justify  this  unjust  discrimina- 
tion. It  is  indefensible.  Neither  can  you  as 
members  of  this  legislature  place  yourselves 
in  a  consistent  and  sincere  attitude  before  the 
people  of  this  state  if  you  permit  passenger 
discrimination  after  commending  the  President 
for  his  opposition  to  freight  discrimination. 

(2.)     That  the  Free  Pass  is  a  Bribery  System. 

Now  let  us  pass  to  the  second  proposition, 
that  the  pass  is  a  bribe.  I  suppose  that  most 
of  the  men  who  carry  the  free  pass,  when  ques- 
tioned, deny  that  they  are  influenced  by  it. 
I  suppose  that  you,  gentlemen,  as  you  sit  here 
now  as  members  of  this  legislative  committee 
on  railroads,  with  free  passes  in  your  pockets, 
deny  that  these  passes  influence  you.  I  don't 
blame  you  for  that.  A  man  can  hardly  be  ex- 
pected to  admit  that  he  is  bribed.     I  recognize 


Th e  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         '163 


that  it  is  possible  for  men  to  carry  these  free 
passes  year  after  year  for  so  long  a  time  that 
they  come  at  last  to  see  things  from  the  rail- 
road point  of  view.  But,  gentlemen,  let  me 
ask  you  for  a  moment  to  put  yourselves  in  the 
place  of  the  general  public.  The  great  masses 
of  the  people  who  pay  the  extortionate  freight 
rates.  Let  me  ask  you  to  look  at  the  question 
from  their  standpoint.  They  know  that  the 
rate  is  extortionate.  They  know  that  this  ex- 
tortion is  protected  by  the  state  government. 
They  know  that  they  are  not  treated  fairly  in 
the  matter  of  their  taxes.  And,  gentlemen, 
they  believe  that  the  lever  which  controls  the 
lawmaking  power  of  the  state  is  The  Free  Pass 
System.  Don't  you  see,  gentlemen,  how  these 
freight  payers  reason  it  out  that  The  Free  Pass 
System  is  a  bribing  influence  which  restrains 
you  from  enacting  a  freight  reduction  law  ? 

How  long  have  freight  rates  been  extor- 
tionate in  this  state  ?  About  twenty-five  years, 
have  they  not?  How  long  has  The  Free  Pass 
System  been  in  use  here  ?  About  the  same 
length  of  time.  These  two  systems  have  gone 
hand  in  hand.,  The  High  Freight  Rate  Sys- 
tem and  The  Free  Pass  System. 

The  freight  payer,  when  he  looks  at  these 


16 Jt         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


two  systems  moving  side  by  side  and  hand  in 
hand  over  a  period  of  so  many  years,  can 
easily  see  that  The  Free  Pass  System  exists  to 
protect  The  High  Freight  System.  If  the  rail- 
roads can  purchase  from  the  politicians  and 
officials  the  privilege  of  robbing  the  public 
through  extortionate  rates,  and  if  the  price  they 
pay  is  The  Free  Pass  System,  then  is  it  not  a 
bribing  system? 

The  free  pass  has  a  money  value.  When 
you  ride  on  the  train  you  tender  your  free 
pass  in  lieu  of  money,  do  you  not?  Count  up 
the  dollars  that  you  save  on  your  travel  in  a 
year,  and  that  is  the  money  value  of  the  pass 
to  you.-  The  pass  represents  money  in  your 
pockets  every  time  you  ride.  Suppose  that 
when  you  take  the  train  for  a  trip  some  legis- 
lative lobbyist  would  step  up  before  you  to 
the  ticket  office  and  buy  a  ticket  with  cash  and 
hand  it  to  you.  Would  that  be  a  bribe  ?  It 
would  certainly  be  humiliating  to  you,  I  be- 
lieve you  will  admit  that.  Or,  suppose  that 
the  lobbyist,  when  you  started  on  a  three 
hundred  mile  trip,  would  hand  you^eighteen 
dollars  in  cash  which  would  be  the  price  of 
your  round  trip  ticket.  Would  you  feel  that 
the  eighteen   dollars  in   cash  was  not  a  bribe, 


The  Free  Paes  Bribery  System.         16o 


and  was  not  intended  as  a  bribe  ?  Would  you 
dare  to  go  home  from  this  legislative  session 
and  take  such  a  position  as  that  before  your 
constituents  ? 

I  have  talked  with  a  good  many  free  pass 
holders  on  this  question,  and  I  find  that  they 
generally  admit  that  the  railroads,  when  they 
issue  free  passes,  expect  some  service  in  re- 
turn. But  these  same  gentlemen  contend  that 
the  railroads  do  not  accomplish  their  purpose 
in  this  respect.  Before  this  session  closes  you 
will  hear  men  boast  in  this  legislature  that 
they  take  all  the  free  passes  they  can  get  and 
they  will  admit  that  the  railroads  maintain 
The  Free  Pass  System  for  a  purpose,  but  they 
will  deny  that  the  purpose  is  accomplished. 
What  kind  of  a  position  is  this  for  a  man  to 
take  who  pretends  to  be  an  honorable  man, 
and  who  has  been  honored  by  his  constituents 
with  an  office  of  responsibility  and  trust  'I  What 
kind  of  a  man  is  it  who  will  accept  from  the 
political  agents  of  a  soulless  corporation  a 
thing  which  the  corporation  intends  as  a  bribe, 
and  then  openly  boast  among  his  official  asso- 
ciates that  he  has  accepted  the  bribe,  used  it 
for  all  it  is  worth,  but  has  rendered  no  equiv- 
alent for  it?    The  fact  is  that  the  pass  holders 


106         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

know  that  the  pass  is  the  means  by  which  the 
railroads  intend  to  buy  influence  over  the  judg- 
ment and  conscience  of  the  politicians  and  the 
officials.  When  the  politician  or  the  official 
accepts  the  pass,  knowing  the  purpose  for  which 
it  is  given,  he  is  then  placed  in  the  position  where 
he  must  betray  somebody.  He  must  either 
betray  the  railroad  managers  who  have  given 
him  the  pass,  or  he  must  betray  the  people. 

.  There  is  a  great  issue  here  in  Nebraska 
between  the  corporations  and  the  people.  The 
matter  in  dispute  is  a  matter  of  money.  The 
extortion  which  the  corporations  practice  takes 
from  the  people  annually  millions  of  dollars 
ii  which  these  corporations  are  not  entitled. 
To  stop  this  drain  of  unlawful  tribute  from 
the  pockets  of  the  people,  the  people  are  ap- 
pealing to  the  state  government  for  protection. 
You,  gentlemen,  as  representatives,  #re  the 
lawmaking  power  to  which  this  appeal  from 
the  public  is  now  made.  Pending  this  appeal 
the  corporations  send  out  their  hired  lobbyists 
to  distribute  among  you  and  your  political 
friend^  these  free  passes.  With  these  passes 
in  your  pockets  the  people  are  calling  upon  you 
for  a  law  that  will  stop  freight  rate  extortion. 
The  corporations  are  urging  you  not  to  pass 


Tlie  Free  iJass  Bribery  System.         167 

such  a  law.  You  cannot  serve  both  of  these 
two  masters.  You  must  choose  whether  you 
will  be  the  representatives  of  the  freight  payers, 
who  have  elected  you,  who  have  trusted  you, 
or  whether  you  will  be  the  servile  tools  of  the 
corporations,  which  have  provided  you  and 
your  friends  with  this  free  transportation. 
It  is  for  you  to  say,  when  you  act  on  this 
bill,  whether  these  people  who  have  trusted 
you  shall  have  justice,  or  whether  they  must 
endure  the  tyranny  of  railroad  domination  m 
government  and  railroad  extortion  in  business 
for  another  two  years. 

The  case  between  the  people  and  the  cor- 
porations is  before  you  now  for  a  decision. 
You  occupy  practically  the  same  position  as 
the  judge  on  the  bench.  The  people's  cause  is 
before  you  pleading  for  your  consideration,  and 
the  corporation  passes  are  in  your  pockets. 
Judas  betrayed  his  Master  for  thirty  pieces 
of  silver,  but  still  even  old  Judas  had  respect 
enough  for  himself  to  be  sorry  for  the  wicked 
conspiracy  into  which  he  had  entered,  and  he 
gave  the  money  back.  It  would  have  been  more 
to  the  credit  of  Judas,  if  he  had  refused  to 
enter  into  the  conspiracy  from  the  first  and 
had  refused  the  money,  but  still  the  repentance 


168         The  Free  Pass'Bribery  System. 

that  came  afterwards  and  the  giving  back  of 
the  money,  even  -when  it  was  too  late,  saved  his 
reputation  to  some  extent. 

What' would  you  think  of  a  judge  upon  the 
bench  before  whom  a  case  was  pending  between 
the  railroads  and  some  freight-robbed  cattle 
shipper,  out  here  in  this  state,  if  the  judge  was 
carrying  in  his  pockets  the  free  passes  of  that 
corporation  ?  Would  you  feel  that  he  was  a 
safe  judge  in  that  case  ?  Would  you,  if  you 
were  the  cattle  shipper,  feel  that  you  had  an 
equal  chance  for  justice  in  that  court,  unless 
you  put  something  into  the  judge's  pockets  as 
valuable  as  the  pass  ?  As  a  litigent,  you  would 
naturally  want  to  be  on  an  equality  with  your 
adversary  in  the  case,  would  you  not  ? 

Look  at  the  situation  as  it  is  here  in  Ne- 
braska for  one  moment.  Here  are  thousands 
of  the  corn  raisers,  cattle  raisers,  fruit  pro- 
ducers and  coal  consumers,  who  are  calling 
upon  you,  as  the  legislative  body,  to  protect 
them  against  the  extortion  of  the  railroads,  to 
which  the  state  government  has  given  a  mo- 
nopoly on  the  carrying  business.  These  cat- 
tle raisers,  corn  producers,  fruit  producers  and 
coal  consumers  have  elected  you  to  this  legis- 
lature to  sit  in  judgment  on  this  extortion,  and 


A  FAMILY  WHICH  MUST  ALWAYS  PAY  WHEN  IT  RIDES. 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         169 


to  render  a  verdict  that  will  stop  the  extortion. 
Even  before  you  take  your  seats  in  this  legis- 
lative court,  these  extortioners  send  their  bribe 
distributors  among  you,  and  you  accept  the 
bribes.  "What  chance  have  the  people  for 
justice  in  such  a  court  ? 

Gentlemen,  this  condition  cannot  continue. 
A  million  of  intelligent  and  independent  peo- 
ple, organized  into  a  state  government,  cannot 
be  deceived  and  cheated  in  this  way  year  after 
year.  The  fact  that  the  members  of  this  present 
legislature  have,  with  a  very  few  exceptions, 
already  accepted  these  free  passes,  indicates 
that  they  are  on  the  railroad  side  of  this  con- 
troversy. It  seems  to  me  that  the  honesty  of 
the  public  official  is  tested  right  at  the  point 
where  the  free  pass  is  tendered  to  him.  He 
may  refuse  the  pass  and  yet  refuse  to  support 
a  rate  reduction  bill,  because  it  may  appear 
to  him  that  a  rate  reduction  law  or  an  anti- 
pass  law  is  unjust  or  is  unnecessary.  But  if 
he  accepts  the  free  pass  for  himself  and  his 
friends,  that  means  that  he  has  entered  into 
the  railroad  conspiracy  against  representative 
government. 

The  free  pass  not  only  bribes  the  politician 
and   the   official,   but   it   sometimes   bribes   the 


1 70         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


whole  public.  Like  any  other  system  of  bribery, 
is  corrupts  the  public  conscience.  The  young- 
men,  growing  up  to  become  lawmakers  and 
guardians  of  our  state,  seeing  this  distribu- 
tion of  free  passes  in  vogue  among  the  leading 
men  of  the  state,  learn  to  look  upon  the  free 
pass,  not  only  as  a  thing  of  advantage,  and 
value,  but  as  a  sign  of  distinction  and  influ- 
ence. We  cannot  maintain  the  vigor  of  youth 
in  our  body  politic,  if  we  tolerate  this  in- 
sidious and  wholesale  bribery  system.  Its  ef- 
fect upon  men  and  upon  the  conscience  of  the 
public  is  like  that  of  creeping  paralysis.  It 
rots  the  fiber  of  common  honesty  among  the 
people  and  lowers  the  standard  of  manhood. 

The  distribution  of  free  passes  has  been 
reduced  to  a  system  in  this  state.  This  is  why 
I  call  it  The  Free  Pass  System.  The  rail- 
roads employ  pass  distributors  to  organize 
the  pass  holders  into  a  political  force.  By 
skillful  organization  they  have  built  up  one 
of  the  most  powerful  political  machines  ever 
operated  in  human  government.  The  young 
man  of  high  ideals,  when  he  comes  to  enter 
political  life  in  this  state,  seeing  this  free  pass 
machine  and  knowing  the  power  that  it  wields, 
is  afraid  of  it.     It  makes  him  hesitate.     The 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  {System.         171 


higlior  ideals,  which  he  has  imbibed  from  the 
books  during  his  school  life,  are  confronted 
with  the  brutal  power  of  this  railroad  organiza- 
tion right  from  the  very  start.  We  cannot  have 
high-minded  and  free  men  in  our  public  af- 
fairs while  this  corporation  giant,  with  his  free 
pass  bribe  and  his  railroad  club_,  is  straddled 
over  the  highway  of  political  opportunity  in 
front  of  every  aspiring  young  man.  The  free 
pass  organization  is  the  "big  stick"  of  the  cor- 
porations. The  big  stick  theory  may  be  all 
right,  but  I  want  the  big  stick  of  political  power 
to  be  in  the  hands  of  the  people.  I  believe 
that  if  the  free  pass  was  abolished  the  con- 
trol of  our  state  government  would  come  back 
into  the  hands  of  the  people.  And  just  a  word 
on  that  point.  The  power  over  the  state  gov- 
ernment will  never  be  in  the  hands  of  the 
people  while  the  corporation  bribes  are  in  the 
peckets  of  the  public  officials. 

(3.)       The  Acceptance  of  the  Free  Pass  by  Any 
Public  Official  Violates  his  Official  Oath. 

And  now,  gentlemen,  I  come  to  my  third 
and  last  proposition,  that  the  taking  of  a  free 
railroad  pass  by  a  public  official  is  contrary 
to  the  oath  provided  by  the  constitution  of  the 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


state.  In  section  I  of  article  XIV,  of  the 
constitution  of  the  state  of  Nebraska,  you  will 
find  the  oath  -which  every  state  official,  includ- 
ing every  member  of  this  legislature,  must  take 
before  entering  upon  the  duties  of  his  office. 
Let  me  read  the  oath : 

"I  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I 
will  support  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States,  and  the  constitution  of  the  state  of  Ne- 
braska,   and    I    will    faithfully    discharge    the 

duties  of  according  to  the  best  of 

my  ability;  and  that  at  the  election  at  which 
I  was  chosen  to  fill  said  office,  I  have  not 
improperly  influence  J,  in  any  way,  the  vote  of 
any  elector,  and  have  not  accepted,  nor  will  I 
accept  or  receive,  directly  or  indirectly,  any 
money  or  other  valuable  thing,  from  any  cor- 
poration, company  or  person,  or  any  promise 
of  office,  for  any  official  act  or  influence,  for 
any  vote  I  may  give  or  withhold  on  any  bill, 
resolution,  or  appropriation." 

Part  of  this  same  section  provides: 

"Any  such  officer  or  member  of  the  legis- 
lature, who  shall  refuse  to  take  the  oath  herein 
prescribed,  shall  forfeit  his  office,  and  any  per- 
son who  shall  be  convicted  of  having  sworn 
falsely  to,  or  of  violating  his  said  oath,  shall 
forfeit  his  office,  and  thereafter  be  disqualified 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         173 

from  holding  any  office  of  profit  or  trust  in 
this  state,  unless  he  shall  have  been  restored  to 
civil  rights." 

Xo  more  searching  oath  could  be  prescribed. 
The  language  is  plain.  Its  meaning  is  as  clear 
a?  the  noonday  sun.  I  maintain  that  every 
man  who  accepts  a  free  pass,  and  who  takes  that 
oath  under  the  constitution,  is  guilty  of  swear- 
ing falsely,  and  if  his  just  deserts  were  meted 
out  to  him,  he  would  suffer  the  consequences 
provided  for  such  offenders  in  that  section  of 
the  constitution. 

•  It  is  a  common  thing  for  public  officials, 
when  they  accept  free  passes,  to  excuse  them- 
selves from  the  penalty  of  the  oath,  on  the 
theory  that  they  have  made  no  promises.  What 
a  flimsy  excuse  that  is !  How  crooked  and 
evasive  it  sounds  coming  from  a  public  official ! 
Everybody  understands  that  the  promise  is 
not  made  in  any  set  form  of  words,  but  it  is 
made  in  the  acceptance  of  the  pass.  When  the 
pass  goes  into  the  official's  pocket,  the  promise 
goes  to  the  corporation,  and  I  will  say  this, 
gentlemen,  for  the  free  pass  holders  of  this 
state,  they  generally  keep  the  promise. 

The  influence  of  the  pass  is  so  insidious 
and   so   destructive  of  all  that  which  is  true 


17 If         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

and  good  in  a  man,  that  railroad  officials  arc 
able  to  rely  upon  the  unspoken  promise,  and 
the  cases  are  very  rare  where  this  trust  has 
been  betrayed.  The  pass  holder  may  accept 
the  pass,  and  he  may  try  to  obscure  the  mean- 
ing of  it,  but  gentlemen,  when  you  read  this 
oath,  prescribed  in  the  constitution,  you  can- 
not get  away  from  the  hold  that  it  has  on  you. 
But  now,  gentlemen  of  the  committee,  if 
you  and  the  other  honorable  gentlemen,  who 
constitute  the  lawmaking  body  now  in  session 
at  the  state  house,  dispute  my  theory,  that  the 
pass  is  unlawful  and  unjust  discrimination ; 
that  it  is  intended  by  the  corporations  as  a 
bribe,  and  is  a  bribe;  that  the  taking  of  it  is 
a  violation  of  the  official  oath  provided  for  in 
the  Nebraska  constitution,  let  me  cite  you  to 
the  testimony  of  a  man  before  whom  all  pass 
holders  and  all  railroad  politicians  must  bow 
with  respect, — a  railroad  president.  If  what 
I  say  on  this  question  has  no  influence  on  you, 
and  if  the  demands  of  the  people  of  Nebraska 
have  no  influence  on  this  legislature,  the  testi- 
mony of  a  railroad  president  will  certainly 
command  your  attention.  Mr.  A.  B.  Stickney, 
president  of  the  Chicago  &  Great  Western  Bail- 
road,  in  speaking  before  a  Washington  Econ- 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         175 

omic  Society,  in  the  City  of  Washington,  on 
the  3rd  clay  of  February,  1905,  took  the  ground 
that  the  Interstate  Commerce  Law  was  hindered 
and  railroad  regulation  seriously  interfered 
with  by  the  influence  of  the  free  pass.  Let  me 
read  you,  gentlemen,  what  Mr.  Stickney  said : 
"Turning  now  from  the  defects  of  the  law, 
I  desire  to  call  attention  to  some  extraneous 
conditions  and  influences  which  have  conduced 
to  render  the  law  unenforceable  and  which, 
as  long  as  they  exist,  will  render  the  most 
perfect  law  unenforceable. 

.  The  Interstate  Commerce  Law  not  only 
forbids  discrimination  in  freight  rates,  but  it 
also  prohibits  free  transportation  of  passen- 
gers. It  makes  the  acceptance  of  a  discriminat- 
ing freight  rate  or  a  free  pass  by  an  individual, 
a  misdemeanor,  each  punishable  alike  by  fine 
or  imprisonment. 

If  we  examine  the  principle  of  law,  and  the 
principles  of  sound  morals  which  justify  the 
law,  we  shall  find  that  every  principle  applies 
to  the  one  as  to  the  other.  If  we  inquire  into 
the  heart  burnings  growing  out  of  railway  dis- 
criminations, which  are  breeding  class  dis- 
tinctions and  class  hatred  and  even  anarchism 
among  the  so-called  lower  classes,  we  will  find 


176         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System,. 

that  the  bitterest  feelings  are  aroused  by  be- 
ing compelled  to  pay  fare  while  richer  men 
ride  free.  If  we  go  among  the  laboring  classes 
either  as  individuals  or  in  their  meetings,  we 
will  hear  bitter  denunciations,  not  of  unreason- 
able or  discriminating  freight  rates,  but  of  free 
passes.  In  times  of  railway  strikes  we  hear  the 
park  orators  proclaim,  'Why  should  we  work  for 
scant  wages  in  order  that  rich  men  may  ride 
in  the  trains  free?'  Probably  eighty  per  cent 
of  the  entire  population  pay  fares,  while  not 
more  than,  say  five  per  cent  directly  pay  freight 
rates. 

Anti-Pass    Legislation. 

The  law  which  makes  it  a  misdemeanor 
for  any  individual,  not  an  officer  or  employe 
of  a  railway  company,  to  use  a  pass  was  enacted 
by  congress  and  approved  by  the  President 
fifteen  years  ago,  and  as  an  individual  rule  of 
action,  it  Avas  ignored  by  the  congressmen  who 
passed  it,  and  by  the  President  who  approved 
it,  and  subsequent  congressmen  and  Presidents, 
with  rare  exceptions,  have  ignored  its  provi- 
sions. Traveling,  they  present  the  evidence 
of  their  misdemeanors  before  the  eyes,  xof  the 
public  in  a  way  which  indicates  no  regard  for 


Th  e  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         177 

the  law.  The  governors  of  the  states,  many  of 
the  judges, — in  short  all  officialdom  from  the 
highest  to  the  lowest,  the  higher  clergy,  college 
professors,  editors,  merchants,  bankers,  lawyers, 
present  the  evidence  of  their  misdemeanors. 
Kow,  while  sheriffs,  district  attorneys,  courts 
and  prisons  may  cope  with  the  outcast  of  so- 
ciety, they  are  powerless  against  the  classes 
which  have  been  mentioned.  Think  of  the  im- 
possibility of  committing  these  classes  to  prison  ! 
Think  of  a  sheriff  arresting  himself,  of  a  dis- 
trict attorney  prosecuting  himself,  and  of  a 
court  committing  himself  to  the  penitentiary ! 
In  England,  where  the  laws  against  dis- 
crimination are  enforced,  these  conditions  do 
not  exist.  The  members  of  Parliament,  who 
enacted  the  laws,  have  obeyed  the  laws  and 
even  the  king,  when  traveling  on  the  railways, 
pays  the  regular  fare,  and  if  he  has  a  special 
train  he  pays  the  schedule  rate  for  its  use.  The 
minor  officials,  the  railway  officials  and  the 
public  follow  their  example.  Therefore  the 
law  of  England  against  discrimination  is  ef- 
fective. 

Public  Conscience  Stifled. 

I  am  not  willing  to  admit  that  the  average 
standard   of   official   and   individual   morals   is 


17S         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

lower  in  this  country  than  in  England,  but 
for  fifteen  years  the  public  conscience  has  ap- 
parently been  in  a  sort  of  self-hypnotic  trance 
of  an  expectancy  which  can  never  be  realized, 
namely  that  the  virtues  of  the  railway  com- 
panies will  render  it  impossible  for  the  in- 
dividual to  offend  the  law.  "While  I  am  will- 
ing to  admit  the  uncompromising  virtues  of 
railway  officials,  I  submit  that  it  is  too  much 
to  expect  the  few  railway  presidents,  who  are 
growing  fewer,  to  furnish  the  virtues  for  85,- 
000,000  of  people. 

What  the  country  needs  to  break  the  trance 
is  an  illustrious  example,  like  the  example  of 
the  king  of  England.  There  is  one  man  and 
but  one  man,  whose  example  would  be  affective ; 
and,  unless  the  American  people  have  mis- 
judged his  character,  if  he  realized  that  he  was 
transgressing  the  law  in  accepting  the  courtesy 
of  free  transportation,  Theodore  Roosevelt 
would  have  the  virtue  and  the  courage  and  the 
ability  to  set  the  example,  which  shall  awaken 
officialdom  and  all  good  citizens  to  a  sense  of 
the  individual  duty  to  obey  this  law. 

'No  one'  says  Mr.  Roosevelt,  'can  too 
strongly  insist  upon  the  elementary  fact  that 
you  cannot  build  the  superstructure  of  public 
virtue  save  on  private  virtues.'  " 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         179 


Now  gentlemen,  I  have  already  occupied 
more  of  your  time  than  I  intended  to.  In  con- 
clusion, let  me  appeal  to  you,  as  officials,  just 
as  President  Stickney  has  appealed  to  official- 
dom all  over  this  country,  to  give  us  in  Ne- 
braska a  law  that  will  destroy  this  Free  Pass 
System  forever.  As  I  said  before,  there  is  a 
struggle  here  in  Nebraska  between  the  rail- 
roads and  the  people.  Eailroad  influence  has 
crowded  itself  into  our  politics  and  govern- 
ment for  the  purpose  of  protecting  railroad 
extortion  in  business.  The  railroads  have  an 
unjust  advantage  here  and  they  want  to  hold 
on  to  it  For  the  sake  of  holding  this  ad- 
vantage, which  amounts  to  millions  annually 
to  them,  they  are  giving  free  transportation  to 
whoever  will  betray  the  people  and  help  them. 
The  Nebraska  people  are  appealing  to  you,  and 
the  press  of  the  state  is  appealing  to  you,  for  a 
law  that  will  strike  down  discrimination,  both 
in  freight  and  passenger  business,  and  give  the 
people  justice  in  this  matter.  President  Eoose- 
velt  has  promised  the  whole  American  people 
justice  so  for  as  he  can  help  to  bring  it  about  in 
the  national  congress.  What  are  you  going  to 
do  now  in  this  state,  gentlemen  ?  What  is  your 
lawmaking  body  going  to  do  ?     Do  you  think 


180         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  /System. 

the  state  government  ought  to  continue,  bv  its 
silence  and  inaction,  to  endorse  this  free  pass 
system,  which  even  railroad  presidents  are  de- 
nouncing in  public  as  unjust  ?  What  is  a  state 
government  for  if  not  to  stand  for  justice  and 
equality  between  its  citizens  ?  Here  is  a  bill, 
which,  if  enacted  into  law,  will  strike  down  rail- 
road discrimination  in  passenger  rates,  railroad 
influence  in  our  politics,  in  our  state  govern- 
ment, in  the  public  affairs  of  our  towns  and 
cities,  which  will  destroy  the  railroad  political 
machine  and  restore  self-government  among  the 
people.  If  you  pass  this  bill,  the  effect  will  be 
to  bury  The  Free  Pass  System;  and  if  it  is 
once  buried  by  legislative  enactment,  it  will 
never  be  resurrected  in  this  state. 

The  people  of  Nebraska  are  now  waiting  on 
you,  gentlemen  of  the  committee.  The  bill  is 
in  your  hands.  If  you  approve  it,  and  report 
it  for  passage,  it  will  probably  be  passed  and 
become  a  law.  If  you  don't  like  this  bill,  if 
you  object  to  it  because  it  was  not  drawn  by  a 
republican,  if  you  take  the  ground  that  a  re- 
publicaiv^egislature  is  not  bound  to  pass  a  bill 
which  was  drawn  by  a  democrat  or  a  populist, 
then,  gentlemen,  reject  this  bill  and  introduee 
one  of  your  own  making.     "Whatever  you  as  the 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         1S1 


committee  on  railroads  think  of  this  particular 
bill,  or  whatever  respect  or  disrespect  you  may 
have  for  my  views,  in  thanking  you  for  the 
courtesy  which  you  have  extended  to  me,  I 
want  to  appeal  to  you,  on  behalf  of  all  the 
people  of  this  state,  to  give  us  some  kind  of  a 
law  that  will  destroy  the  railroad  machine  in 
politics  and  give  us  back  the  advantages  of  rep- 
resentative government  which  have  been  denied 
us  for  so  many  years. 


Opening  Speech  of  1984  Campaign 

Speech  Sounding  Keynote  of  Campaign  when 
Mr.  Eerge  -was  Candidate  for  Governor  of  Ne- 
braska in  1G04.  This  was  his  opening  speech  ol 
the  campaign  and  was  delivered  at  Epworth 
Lake  Park  before  a  large  audience  Saturday, 
September,  17,  1904.  So  much  as  bears  upon 
the  subject  discussed  in  this  volume  is  here 
given. 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  {System.         1S5 


CHAPTER  XXII 

OPENING  SPEECH  OF  1904  CAMPAIGN. 

Mr.  Chairman,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  In 
accepting  this  nomination  for  the  chief  execu- 
tive office  of  the  state,  I  am  fully  conscious  of 
the  responsibilities  it  places  upon  me.  The  cam- 
paign upon  which  we  are  entering,  in  many  re- 
spects, is  the  most  important  in  which  the  peo- 
ple of  the  state  have  ever  engaged.  I  want  to 
express  the  pleasure  it  is  to  me  that  this  opening 
meeting  of  the  campaign  is  here  in  my  home 
city,  where  I  have  lived  for  fourteen  years.  I 
believe  that  the  people  of  this  county,  who  have 
known  me  during  these  years,  will  have  confi- 
dence in  what  I  say  here,  and  that  even  my 
political  opponents,  who  will,  perhaps,  reject 
my  views  or  dispute  my  judgment,  will  at  least 
not  question  my  sincerity. 

Since  my  nomination  I  have  been  advised 
to  do  many  things  to  make  my  election  sure. 
Some  of  the  suggestions  I  have  received  were 
good  ones,  others  were  not  so  good.      I  have 


186         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


been  glad,  however,  to  receive  every  suggestion 
that  has  been  made,  because  they  have  all 
helped  nie  to  adopt  what  I  hope  is  the  right 
course  in  this  campaign.  I  have  made  up  my 
mind  that  the  proper  course  for  me  in  this  cam- 
paign is  the  straight  forward  course  without 
any  attempt  to  edge  myself  into  the  executive 
chair.  If  I  am  elected,  I  will  take  the  executive 
chair  unpledged  and  free.  I  will  not  be  un- 
der any  obligation  to  any  interest,  neither  will 
I  allow  myself  to  be  put  into  an  attitude  of  hos- 
tility to  any  interest.  I  believe  the  people  want 
the  public  affairs  of  this  state  administered 
without  dictation  from  any  influence  and  with- 
out prejudice  against  any  influence.  I  would 
rather  be  defeated  and  live  out  my  life  among 
you  here  as  a  private  citizen  than  to  be  the 
mere  creature  or  tool  of  any  of  the  forces  that 
contend  against  each  other  in  Nebraska  poli- 
tics. I  hope  that  I  have  no  preconceived  bias 
or  prejudice  for  or  against  any  business  in- 
terest. I  believe  that  it  is  possible  for  an  ex- 
ecutive to  be  fair  to  the  corporations  and  yet 
be  faithful  to  the  people.  I  pledge  you  good 
faith  and  my  best  ability  in  the  consideration 
of  every  question  that  shall  come  before  me. 
Issues  of  the  Campaign. 

It  has  been  frequently  asserted  that  there 
are  no  issues  in  this  campaign,  except  to  get 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         181 

the  offices.  It  has  been  said  that  the  populists 
and  democrats  no  longer  represent  any  prin- 
ciple, and  that  this  campaign  is  simply  a 
scramble  for  spoils.  If  I  believed  this,  I  would 
resign  my  candidacy  at  once.  If  this  were  true, 
there  would  be  no  good  reason  for  the  election 
of  any  candidate  on  the  fusion  ticket. 

But  who  is  it  that  says  there  are  no  issues  ? 
It  is  seasy  for  those  holding  official  positions 
under  the  dominant  party  to  say  that  there  are 
nc  issues.  Have  the  taxpayers  said  that  there 
are  no  issues  ?  Do  the  farmers,  the  business 
men,  and  the  laboring  men  say  that  there  are 
no  issues  in  this  campaign?  It  can  be  shown 
that  a  great  deal  of  money  has  been  recklessly 
squandered  during  the  last  two  years,  and  do 
the  men,  who  are  taxed  to  raise  this  money, 
do  they  say  there  are  no  issues  ?  The  great  mass 
of  Nebraska  citizens  have  had  but  little  to  say 
in  the  state  government  here  for  a  good  many 
years,  and  do  these  citizens  say  that  there  are 
no  issues  ?  There  is  a  class,  who  have  enjoyed 
special  privileges  as  the  favorites  of  the  cor- 
porations. It  may  seem  to  these  that  so  long 
a*  their  special  privileges  continue  that  there  are 
really  no  issues  in  this  state.  Certain  business 
interests  have  been  in  part  exempt  from  taxa- 


188         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

tion.  Perhaps  the  representatives  of  these  in- 
terests feel  that  there  are  no  issues  in  this  cam- 
paign. But  I  believe  that  the  people,  who  are 
looking  after  their  side  of  public  affairs,  are 
beginning  to  realize  that  there  are  some  issues 
in  this  state,  and  that  they  are  of  a  character 
so  serious  as  to  be  vital  to  them,  if  this  is  to 
be  a  self-governing  state. 

The  fact  is  that  the  government  of  this  state 
has  long  since  passed  out  of  the  hands  of  the 
people,  and  into  the  hands  of  political  bosses 
and  certain  corporation  influences.  I  speak  of 
this  as  a  fact.  I  believe  the  people  generally 
so  understand  it.  The  dictation  of  our  public 
affairs  by  political  bosses  and  corporation  in- 
fluences is  a  matter  so  universally  understood 
as  to  require  no  argument  or  proof. 

This  state  in  name  is  a  government  of  the 
people.  We  have  here  the  form  of  self-govern- 
ment. We  have  our  constitution.  We  have 
our  statutes.  We  discuss  politics.  We  organize 
campaigns.  The  people  vote  at  the  elections. 
But  if  our  officials  are  under  corporation  control 
and  if  our  laws  are  made  at  the  dictation  of 
corporation  influences,  then  our  state  govern- 
ment is  not  a  government  by  the  people,  but  a 
government  by  the  corporations. 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System .         1S9 

A  state  government  of  the  people  implies 
that  if  there  is  a  law  on  our  statute  books  the 
people  do  not  want  that  they  may  repeal  it. 
It  means  that  if  the  people  want  a  law  for  their 
good  that  they  will  pass  that  law.  It  means 
that  the  people  shall  suggest  and  name  and 
elect  the  men  they  want  to  serve  them.  It 
means  that  the  official  who  is  elected  shall  serve 
the  people  and  not  some  other  interest  or  some 
other  influence. 

It  is  a  serious  charge  to  say  that  we  have  no 
longer  self-government  in  this  state.  But  if  it 
is  a  fact  somebody  ought  to  say  it.  Not  only 
is  our  state  government  usurped  by  these  po- 
litical bosses  and  these  corporation  influences, 
but  the  influence  we  exert  as  a  state  in  the 
National  Congress  is  of  the  same  kind.  Who 
elected  our  two  present  United  States  senators? 
Did  the  people  have  anything  to  do  with  it? 
"What  influence  dominated  the  legislature  that 
elected  those  senators  ?  Was  it  the  people's  in- 
fluence or  was  there  some  other  influence  run- 
ning that  legislature?  What  influence  is  it  that 
controls  republican  conventions'?  Tell  me  when 
did  the  republicans  have  a  convention  that  was 
really  a  people's  convention  ?  What  did  the 
people  have  to  do  with  the  extravagant  appro- 


190         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

priations  of  the  last  legislature  ?  What  influence 
is  it  in  our  state  politics  that  is  so  recklessly 
squandering  our  money  ?  What  did  the  people 
have  to  do  with  the  passage  of  our  present 
revenue  law  ?  It  was  not  the  farmers'  influence ; 
it  was  not  the  influence  of  the  business  men; 
it  was  not  the  influence  of  the  mechanic  or 
laboring  men  that  is  responsible  for  any  of 
these  things.  Such  abuses  as  these  almost  dis- 
courage popular  government.  It  seems  almost 
incredible  that  the  people  of  Nebraska  should 
submit  to  such  dictation.  It  is  a  serious  thing 
to  contemplate  that  while  the  form  of  our  gov- 
ernment is  right  in  the  main,  that  it  is  con- 
stantly perverted  by  influences  that  work  in 
secret.  The  trouble  is  that  the  people  who  are 
expected  to  operate  the  machinery  of  the  gov- 
ernment are  pushed  away  from  it.  Their  hands 
do  not  touch  it.  All  these  years  the  people 
have  been  asking  for  bread,  but  the  influences 
in  control  have  given  thorn  a  stone.  To  the 
people  of  the  state,  I  sound  a  note  of  warn- 
ing. If  you  do  not  soon  drive  these  usurpers 
from  the  throne  of  our  state  government,  the 
time  will  come  when  you  will  be  helpless  and 
cannot  do  it. 

But  how,  you  ask,  is  this  done?    How  is  it 


The  Free  Fass  Bribery  System.         191 

that  the  people  have  the  legal  right  to  govern 
themselves  and  yet  any  man  or  set  of  men  can 
usurp  and  take  away  this  sovereign  right  ? 
Row  is  it  that  the  people  will  permit  this  ?  How 
is  it  that  in  this  state  where  every  man  has  the 
right  to  make  himself  heard  and  to  make  his 
influence  felt,  that  a  few  political  bosses  and  a 
few  corporations  can  control  the  whole  state 
government  ?  This  is  done  through  several 
sources  and  by  several  means.  Let  me  point 
out  a  few  of  them. 

;  In  its  last  analysis  our  constitution  and  our 
laws  are  not  our  real  government.  All  officials 
are  human  beings.  It  matters  not  what  our 
constitution  is,  or  what  our  laws  are.  It  mat- 
ters not  what  the  people  are  crying  out  for  from 
every  township  and  every  country  precinct  in 
this  state.  Our  government  is  just  what  cer- 
tain influence  make  it.  Influence  is  the  real 
power  in  all  government.  Where  the  influence 
is,  there  is  the  real  seat  of  government.  In- 
fluence suggests  candidates.  Influence  elects 
candidates*  It  is  influence  that  controls  the 
representatives  in  the  legislature.  It  is  influ- 
ence that  swerves  the  judge  on  the  bench.  It 
is  influence  that  swavs  the  e;overnor  in  the  ex- 
ecutive   chair.      Influence   moves   or   stays   the 


192         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


hand  of  the  official.  The  officer,  who  walks  the 
street,  either  sees  violations  of  the  law,  or  omits 
to  see  them  according  to  the  influence  that 
named  that  officer.  Say  what  you  will,  our 
state  government,  from  the  chief  executive  in 
the  chair  down  to  the  janitor,  who  sweeps  or 
neglects  to  sweep  the  corridors  of  the  state 
house,  is  the  power  that  exercises  control  over 
these  men.  In  battle  the  power  is  in  the  man 
behind  the  gun.  In  civil  affairs  the  power  is 
in  the  influence  behind  the  official.  You  get 
from  the  official  just  such  laws,  if  he  is  a  law- 
maker, just  such  interpretation  of  law,  if  he 
is  a  judge,  just  such  enforcement  of  law,,  if  he 
is  an  executive  officer,  just  such  assessment  of 
property,  if  he  is  an  assessor,  as  is  desired  by 
the  influences  that  made  him.  The  official 
knows  the  influence  that  gave  him  his  job. 
He  knows  that  he  must  obey  that  authority  of 
get  out.  It  is  therefore  important  to  know 
what  influence  is  in  control.  It  is  important 
to  know  what  influence  names  our  candidates 
and  enacts  our  laws.  The  people  should  exert 
this  influence.  It  is  their  privilege.  It  is  their 
right.  It  is  not  only  their  privelege  and  their 
right,  but  their  duty.  Our  shame  is  that  we 
have  not  always  exercised  this  right.     We  have 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         193 

surrendered  that  right  to  some  one  else.  Jacob 
of  old  sold  his  birth-right  for  a  mess  of  pot- 
tage.    We  have  sold  ours  for  a  free  pass. 

The  Free  Pass  System. 

There  are  people  who  scoff  at  this  idea, 
but  I  believe  it  is  true  nevertheless.  What  is 
The  Free  Pass  System  for  if  not  to  procure 
the  government  away  from  the  people?  The 
first  move  to  make  towards  better  government 
is  to  abolish  the  free  pass.  We  used  to  say  the 
pass  was  a  bribe.  We  were  right  when  we  said 
that.  A  pass  is  a  bribe.  If  it  does  not  accom- 
plish its  purpose,  it  simply  miscarries.  Much 
has  been  said  in  recent  years  about  freight  rates, 
about  passenger  rates,  about  the  taxation  ques- 
tion, but,  my  friends,  have  you  made  any  head- 
way? Are  you  any  better  off  today  than  you 
were  fourteen  years  ago  when  this  agitation 
first  started?  Every  piece  of  legislation  look- 
ing to  that  end  has  been  defeated.  Every  law 
has  bees  declared  invalid.  My  friends,  you 
will  never  regulate  freight  rates,  you  will  never 
regulate  passenger  rates,  you  will  never  solve 
the  taxation  question  so  long  as  the  free  trans- 
portation system  remains.  «$ 

In  discussing  this  question,  I  am  going  to 


19 If.         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

assume  that  railroads  want  only  what  is  right. 
I  am  going  to  assume  that  railroads  sometimes 
have  to  resort  to  this  vicious  system  for  the 
purpose  of  protecting  themselves  against  black- 
mail and  against  unscrupulous  officeholders.  I 
condemn  the  officeholders  just  as  much  as  I  do 
the  railroads  because  we  have  with  us  this 
vicious  system.  I  have  thought  sometimes  that 
the  railroads  are  in  the  same  condition  as  the 
man,  who  has  become  addicted  to  the  use  of 
stimulants,  who  would  like  to  leave  off  the  habit, 
but  cannot.  I  am  going  to  insist  therefore  that 
the  railroads  themselves  should  desire  to  abolish 
this  vicious  pass  system  just  as  much  as  the 
people.  All  railroad  officials  are  not  bad  men, 
and  all  public  officials  elected  in  the  name  of  the 
people  are  not  all  good  men.  It  is  neither  the 
officials  nor  the  railroads  that  I  am  after.  I  am 
after  this  vicious  system.  I  believe  that  it 
must  be  first  abolished  before  we  can  get  whole- 
some legislation. 

I  believe  it  is  true  and  can  be  shown  that 
The  Free  Pass  System  in  this  state  has  de- 
veloped to  a  point  where  it  absolutely  dictates 
our  public  affairs.  It  has  become  a  menace  to 
our  state  and  city  governments.  The  Free  Pass 
System  has  developed  into  a  secret  political  or- 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         195 


ganization,  embracing  the  strong  men,  influ- 
ential in  their  various  localities  throughout  the 
state,  cemented  together  in  a  compact,  which 
grows  more  and  more  binding  as  the  years  of 
association  together  blend  the  members  of  this 
organization  into  harmony  with  each  other,  and 
while  this  compact  grows  stronger  and  stronger 
as  between  the  members  themselves,  the  organi- 
zation, as  a  body,  as  a  powerful  and  potent  force 
in  politics,  becomes  more  and  more  under  the 
control  of  the  railroads. 

If  the  power  exerted  by  this  organization 
could  be  realized  by  the  voters  of  this  state, 
they  would  surely  find  some  way  to  sweep  it 
out  of  existence  at  a  single  blow.  The  people 
of  the  legislative  districts  do  not  fully  under- 
stand, what  well  informed  men  understand  to 
be  the  truth,  that  this  free  pass  organization, 
working  in  secret,  as  a  secret  force  within  the 
parties  of  the  state,  has  actually  controlled  the 
selection  of  members  of  the  legislature  in  many 
of  the  districts  of  the  state  for  twenty-five 
years.  The  same  is  true  in  a  large  measure  of 
state  officials.  This  has  been  done  by  means  of 
The  Free  Pass  System.  We  are  made  each 
of  us  a  grateful  and  appreciative  human  being. 
If  one  man  does  another  a  favor,  it  is  but  human 


196         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

nature  to  want  to  return  the  favor.  And  if 
you  don't  want  to  return  that  favor,  then  don't 
permit  any  man  to  put  you  under  obligations  to 
him.  It  is  contrary  to  the  law  of  human  nature 
for  one  man  to  accept  a  favor  from  another  and 
not  remember  it  Avith  gratitude. 

A  litigant  down  in  Kansas  recently  sent  the 
trial  judge  a  $500.00  check.  A  railroad  com- 
pany was  the  other  party  in  interest.  The  judge 
had  carried  the  pass  of  the  railroad  company 
for  years.  "I'm  not  trying  to  bribe  the  court," 
said  the  maker  of  the  check,  "but  if  the  pass 
is  of  value  and  has  influence,  then  I  want  to  put 
up  something  of  equal  value  that  will  off-set  that 
influence  so  that  I  will  be  on  an  equal  footing  be- 
fore the  court.  If  you  retain  the  pass,  please  re- 
tain the  check.  But  if  you  return  the  check, 
please  also  return  the  pass." 

Ex-Governor  Larabce  of  Iowa,  speaking  of 
how  a  pass  is  regarded  by  railroad  officials,  says, 
"The  railroad  pass,  when  presented  by  a  public 
official  or  even  by  any  public  man,  is  now,  in 
nine  cases  out  of  ten,  a  certificate  of  dishonor 
and  a  token  of  servility,  and  is  so  recognized 
by  railroad  officials." 

The  free  pass  has  swayed  many  a  judge.  I 
have  no  doubt  of  that.     In  this  state,  I  am 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         197 

informed,  that  the  whole  judicial  system  from 
top  to  bottom  is  mantled  with  The  Free  Pass 
System.  Not  only  the  judges,  but  many  of 
the  jurors  and  court  officials  are  affected  by 
it.  Wot  only  the  machinery  of  our  courts,  but 
the  officials  in  every  department  of  our  state 
are  affected  by  it.  Say  what  you  will,  you 
cannot  get  impartial  administration  that  way. 
The  pass  system  has  created  a  gulf  between 
the  people  and  their  government.  It  must  be 
abolished,  and  the  man  who  is  not  ready  to 
support  a  movement  for  the  abolition  of  The 
Free  Pass  Stysem  is  unworthy  to  sit  in  the 
legislature,  on  the  bench,  or  in  the  executive 
chair. 

The  pass  system  should  be  abolished  be- 
cause it  will  be  better  for  the  railroads  and 
better  for  the  people.  It  may  seem  to  the  rail- 
roads that  they  can  wield  an  influence  and 
with  it  protect  themselves,  but  have  railroads 
ever  thought  how  public  sentiment  is  arrayed 
against  them  on  account  of  the  pass  ?  People 
don't  like  to  be  discriminated  against;  people 
love  fair  play.  The  railroads  have  their  prop- 
erty in  the  state,  in  fact  own  more  property 
in  the  state  than  any  other  one  person  or  cor- 
poration.     Their  property  deserves  protection. 


198         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


Their  interests  should  be  regarded  as  sacred  as 
those  of  the  most  humble  private  citizen.  No 
fair-minded  man  will  dispute  that,  and  no  rail- 
road will  deny  the  citizens  of  the  state  the 
right  to  regulate  by  law  the  railroads.  Fairness 
is  what  we  want  here,  no  tiling  more,  nothing- 
less.  As  long  as  the  railroads  are  permitted  to 
be  managed  as  private  property  and  used  by 
the  stockholders  for  speculative  purposes  and 
private  gain,  just  so  long  must  the  people  regu- 
late them  by  law. 

It  is  unfortunate  that  in  this  regulation 
there  has  been  so  much  friction  and  clashing 
of  interests.  I  am  firm  in  the  conviction  that 
if  we  approach  this  question,  not  as  a  partisan 
of  either  side,  but  with  a  spirit  of  fairness  and 
reasonableness,  that  it  is  possible  to  do  what  is 
right  between  the  railroads  and  the  people. 
This  should  be  the  endeavor  of  every  public 
official. 

The  very  fact,  however,  that  regulation  is 
difficult,  in  my  judgment,  will  hasten  the  day 
when  railroads  will  become,  in  fact  as  well  as 
in  theory,  public  highways,  to  be  owned,  and 
operated  by  the  government.  If  I  should  make 
a  prophecy,  I  would  say  that  folic  ving  a  period 
of  attempted  regulation  will  come  govern] 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.        199 

ownership.  Until  that  day  comes  it  should  be 
our  endeavor  to  find  out  what  is  right  and 
what  is  just  between  the  people  and  the  rail- 
roads, and  then  courageously  do  that  which  will 
protect  the  interests  of  both. 

The  Professional  Lobby. 

Another  agency,  which  has  helped  to  put 
our  state  government  out  of  the  people's  hands, 
is  the  lobby.  Men  are  elected  to  the  legislature, 
and  state  officials  are  elected  to  administer  the 
affairs  of  the  state.  These  officials  say  they 
want  to  do  what  is  right.  They  say  they  favor 
wholesome  laws.  But  let  a  measure  come  up 
and  the  lobby  appears.  By  one  method  or  an- 
other good  laws  are  repealed,  and  bad  laws 
are  passed.  Sometimes  the  lobbyist  uses  money ; 
sometimes  he  uses  passes ;  sometimes  he  uses 
promises  of  political  reward,  but  always  this 
influence  is  pernicious  and  deadly.  The  in- 
terests of  every  private  citizen  and  the  interests 
of  every  corporation  should  be  carefully 
guarded.  But  there  ought  not  to  be  permitted 
ir-  any  state,  in  any  legislature  the  notorious 
lobby  that  corrupts  everybody  it  touches,  and 
that  defeats  every  measure  against  which  its 
deadly  force  is  directed. 


£00         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

p  As  an  illustration  of  the  influence  of  the 
paid  lobby,  I  point  to  the  provision  of  our  own 
city  charter  denying  to  our  city  council  the 
right  to  regulate  telephone  rates.  The  idea  of 
having  the  right  to  grant  a  charter  or  franchise 
and  then  have  no  control  over  the  object  of  our 
creation  is  a  proposition  so  absurd  that  self-re- 
specting men  blush  with  shame.  That  provision 
was  put  into  the  charter  by  the  lobbyist.  Dis- 
claiming any  intention  to  criticise  any  telephone 
company,  the  work  of  that  lobbyist  is  a  damage 
and  an  injury  to  the  people  of  this  city. 

In  the  last  legislature  the  farmers  wanted 
the  Brady  bill  passed.  ISTo  intelligent  member 
of  the  legislature  could  read  that  bill  without 
feeling  that  it  was  his  duty  to  vote  for  it.  The 
farmers  petitioned  for  its  passage.  The  bill 
simply  provided  that  the  railroads  should  give 
adequate  facilities  to  the  farmers  in  the  ship- 
ment of  grain.  A  lobby  defeated  the  bill.  A 
lcbby  gave  the  farmers  a  bill  that  the  farmers 
did  not  want.  A  lobby  said  that  it  knew  better 
than  the  farmers  themselves  what  kind  of  a 
Lav  they  should  have.  It  was  the  deadly  force 
of  the  lobby  directed  again.it  it  that  killed  the 
Erady  bill. 

Let  me  give  yon  another  instance.     "We  have 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         201 


heard  much  about  Colorado  lately.  Do  you 
know  that  in  the  state  of  Colorado,  a  few  years 
ago,  that  all  political  parties,  populist,  demo- 
cratic and  republican,  alike,  pledged  themselves 
to  pass  an  eight  hour  law  for  the  miners.  These 
men,  who  go  into  the  bowels  of  the  earth  and 
lie  on  their  backs  the  long  day  through,  in  the 
darkness  and  in  the  mud  and  dirt,  had  aroused 
the  sympathy  of  the  people  of  that  state  so  much 
that  the  demand  for  an  eight  hour  law  was 
well  nigh  universal.  Everybody  favored  it. 
Almost  every  man  who  went  to  the  legislature 
pledged  himself  to  vote  for  such  a  law,  but, 
my  friends,  when  the  legislature  met,  the  force 
of  the  professional  lobby  was  directed  against 
it  and  the  measure  was  defeated.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  those  who  favored  the  eight  hour 
law  and  those  who  were  opposed  to  it  had  the 
I  to  bo  heard  before  the  legislature.  But 
no  man  will  pretend  that  a  professional  lobby, 
a  paid  1  >bby,  has  the  right  to  over-ride  the 
wishes  of  the  |  e  ;  le  in  that  wry.  It  is  through 
ihe  lobby  that  the  people  are  prevented  from 
g  Ming  their  hands  on  the  governments  It  is 
througb  the  professional  lobby  that  the  voice 
of  the  people  has  been  silenced  in  our  legisla- 
ture.   I  say  that  the  professional  lobbyist  whose 


20£        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

business  it  is  to  thwart  the  wishes  of  the  people 
and  defeat  wholesome  legislation  in  that  way 
should  be  branded  as  a  criminal  and  punished 
as  such.  He  is  an  enemy  to  popular  govern- 
ment. 

Partisan   Politics. 

Another  reason  why  our  state  government 
has  passed  out  of  the  hands  of  the  people  is 
on  account  of  partisanship.  Political  parties 
are  only  a  means  to  an  end.  Let  me  ask  the 
rank  and  file  of  the  republican  voters  of  this 
state  if  it  is  not  true  that  the  control  of  your 
party  has  long  ago  passed  out  of  your  hands? 
Is  it  not  true  that  you  have  been  compelled  to 
support  men  and  measures  because  you  could 
not  be  heard  or  make  your  influence  felt  ? 
What  is  true  of  the  republican  party  in  this 
state  is  true  of  the  democratic  party  in  St. 
Louis.  What  is  true  of  the  democratic  party 
in  St.  Louis  is  true  of  the  republican  party  in 
Pennsylvania.  It  is  a  disease  confined  not 
to  any  state  or  any  one  political  party.  It  is 
a  disease  that  affects  every  dominant  party  long 
i.i  control. 

I  am  not  here  to  condemn  or  find  fault  with 
republican  voters.  On  the  contrary  1  want  to 
tell  you  that  I  believe  you  want  to  do  what  is 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         203 

right,  and  that  you  want  good  government  just 
as  much  as  I  do  or  as  populists  and  democrats 
do.  I  believe  that  you  are  patriotic  enough 
that  when  the  issue  is  squarely  presented  that 
you  will  vote  for  the  welfare  of  the  state  re- 
gardless of  the  party  to  which  you  belong.  I 
want  the  republican  voters  of  the  state  to  hear 
me.  Are  you  longer  able  to  say  who  shall 
represent  you  in  the  legislature  ?  Are  you  longer 
able  to  help  name  the  men  who  shall  sit  in 
your  executive  offices  in  the  state  house?  Do  you 
help  bring  out  these  candidates  ?  Do  you 
have  your  hands  on  the  machinery  of  your 
party  ?  Is  your  voice  heard  and  your  influence 
felt  in  your  state  conventions  % 

Let  us  see  just  how  a  man  gets  into  a  state 
office  and  who  puts  him  there.  Before  a  man 
can  be  voted  for,  his  name  must  be  on  the  ticket. 
Before  his  name  can  be  on  the  ticket,  he  must 
be  regularly  nominated.  Before  he  can  be 
nominated,  he  must  be  brought  out,  his  name 
must  be  suggested  and  there  must  be  organized 
around  him  enough  of  force  from  somewhere 
to  make  his  candidacy  promising  and  success- 
ful. If  his  candidacy  is  announced  with  a 
nourish  of  confidence,  with  hints  that  he  is  a 
sure  winner,  then  the  local  politicians  take  the 


20 %         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

hint,  and  they  gather  around  him  and  shout  for 
him,  no  matter  what  their  real  judgment  of 
him  may  be.  If  the  people  lose  at  this  point, 
when  the  candidate  is  brought  out,  they  lose 
all.  If  they  do  not  touch  the  party  machinery 
there,  they  never  get  their  hands  on  it  again. 
The  republicans  of  Lancaster  County  have 
shown  great  loyalty  to  the  party,  but  what  has 
the  party  done  for  them?  The  republicans  of 
the  state  have  shown  great  loyalty  to  the  party, 
but  what  has  the  party  done  for  you  ? 

There  is  no  sanctity  in  party  name.  Parties 
may  outlive  their  usefulness,  but  the  truth  never 
becomes  obsolete.  Partisanship  is  more  often 
the  design  of  those  who  lead  than  it  is  the  prin- 
ciple of  those  who  follow.  The  political  boss 
with  his  pockets  full  of  free  transportation  tells 
the  voter  he  must  vote  the  party  ticket  from  top 
to  bottom.  This  doctrine  may  be  all  right 
when  the  party  machine  is  in  the  control  of 
the  party  voters,  but  when  the  party  machinery 
is  in  the  control  of  other  influences,  then  the 
party  ticket  doctrine  has  no  claim  upon  any 
self-respecting  voter. 

Will  anybody  claim  that  the  average  voter 
has  any  say  in  the  councils  of  the  republican 
party  ?    When  your  conventions  meet  and  name 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         zU5 


candidates,  are  they  the  candidates  of  the  voters 
of  the  republican  party  ?  There  is  not  a  re- 
publican, who  knows  the  real  situation,  who 
will  say  that  this  is  not  the  case.  This  being 
so,  what  is  the  plain  duty  of  republican  voters 
of  the  state  ?  Will  you  support  a  machine  that 
itf  not  of  your  making,  and  is  not  run  in  your 
interest?  Will  you  longer  allow  yourselves  to 
bo  made  figureheads  in  this  serious  business  ? 
Ii  is  easy  for  the  captains  of  transportation, 
through  their  lieutenants  over  the  state,  to  order 
the  rank  and  file  of  the  republican  column  to 
move  forward  under  the  republican  flag,  but 
it  is  hard  for  the  private  in  the  ranks,  the 
common  citizen,  who  has  been  voting  for  twenty- 
five  years  for  men  whose  names  were  put  upon 
his  ticket  by  the  party  bosses,  to  reason  out 
what  virtue  there  is  in  party  loyalty  when  tbe 
only  result  is  higher  taxes  for  the  people,  higher 
freight  rates  for  the  railroads,  and  free  trans- 
portation for  the  bosses.     ****** 

With  these  astounding  disclosures,  is  there 
no  issue  before  the  voters  in  this  campaign? 
Is  it  only  a  scramble  for  office  ?  Is  there  no 
principle  involved  in  this  fight  ?  We  are  try- 
ing to  right  a  great  wrong.  Is  there  no  issue 
in  that?   When  the  tax  payers  of  the  state  come 


206        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

together  in  different  conventions  and  join  hands 
to  correct  these  evils,  are  they  to  be  censured  ? 
Are  populists  and  democrats  deserving  of  ridi- 
cule when  they  co-operate  in  such  a  cause  ? 
I  make  the  prediction  that  before  election  day, 
not  only  populists  and  democrats,  but  thosuands 
of  republicans  will  be  with  us  in  this  fight. 
Long  before  election  day  we  will  forget  party 
lines.  I  am  glad  for  an  opportunity  to  help 
win  the  battle.  If  I  do  no  other  important 
thing  as  long  as  I  live,  I  want  to  do  this.  My 
heart  is  in  it.  The  hard-faced  politician  may 
smile  at  my  enthusiasm,  but  I  would  rather 
work  with  the  people  than  with  him. 

But,  my  friends,  as  partisans  we  cannot 
always  win  these  victories.  Sometimes  we  must 
forget  our  political  affiliations.  We  can  join 
hands  on  these  state  issues  this  year  and  discuss 
our  party  doctrines  some  other  time.  We  can 
march  shoulder  to  shoulder  in  this  fight  with- 
out any  sacrifice  or  compromise  of  our  views 
on  national  questions.  What  has  the  tariff  ques- 
tion to  do  with  this  fight  ?  What  has  the  money 
question  to  do  with  this  fight  ?  It  is  not  a  ques- 
tion with  us  in  this  campaign  whether  the 
Filipino  shall  have  independence.  It  is  a  ques- 
tion whether  we  ourselves,   right  here  in  Ne- 


>;      The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.        207 

braska,  shall  have  the  right  to  govern  our- 
selves. It  is  not  a  question  whether  we  believe 
in  an  income  tax.  It  is  a  question  whether  here 
in  Nebraska  taxes  shall  become  so  burdensome 
as  to  amount  to  confiscation  of  our  property. 
1 1  is  a  question  whether  here  at  home  in  Ne- 
braska the  taxing  power  shall  be  in  our  own 
hands,  or  whether  some  one  else  shall  exercise 
that  right. 

Let  me  say  again,  if  we  win  this  battle, 
it  will  not  be  in  a  partisan  spirit.  The  issue 
in  Nebraska  is  the  same  that  is  being  fought 
out  in  other  states.  The  people  of  Missouri  are 
waging  the  same  fight.  For  more  than  a  quar- 
ter of  a  century  the  government  of  St.  Louis 
has  been  out  of  the  hands  of  the  people.  Valu- 
able franchises  were  bartered  away.  The  peo- 
ple have  been  over-burdened  with  taxes.  The 
whole  city  government  has  been  run,  not  in  the 
interests  of  the  people,  but  in  the  interests  of 
a  corrupt  political  machine,  a  secret  organiza- 
tion of  bribers.  The  fight  there,  as  here,  is  to 
wrest  the  government  from  the  boodlers  arid 
political  manipulators  and  restore  it  back  to 
the  people.  For  twenty-five  years  strong  men 
have  bowed  before  this  mighty  power  of  organ- 
ized  corruption.      The   best   men   were   either 


808        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


obliged  to  keep  out  of  politics,  or  bend  the 
knee  to  an  organization  of  bribers.  This  con- 
dition has  become  intolerable.  But  now  a 
young  man  has  arisen  there  with  the  moral 
courage  to  risk  his  life  and  reputation  in  a 
dtsperate  grapple  with  this  monster.  If  Joseph 
W.  Folk  will  live  long  enough  I  believe  he  will 
wrest  the  government  of  Missouri  from  the 
worst  gang  of  boodlers  that  ever  infested  any 
state.  I  hope  that  he  will  do  more  than  that. 
I  hope  that  he  will  send  every  bribe  giver  and 
bribe  taker  to  the  penitentiary. 

What  is  being  done  in  Missouri  is  being 
done  in  Wisconsin.  The  fight  in  Wisconsin  is 
to  keep  the  government  that  has  been  retrieved 
by  the  people.  I  am  glad  that  Wisconsin  has 
a  man  with  such  strong  convictions  and  such 
moral  courage. 

The  Missouri  candidate  for  governor  is  a 
democrat.  The  Wisconsin  leader  is  a  republi- 
can. In  Missouri  thousands  of  republicans  will 
vote  for  Joseph  W.  Folk  for  governor,  and  it 
is  not  to  the  credit  of  the  republican  party  of 
that  state  that  they  have  put  up  a  candidate 
against  him.  In  Wisconsin  thousands  of  demo- 
crats will  vote  for  Governor  La  Toilette's  re- 
election.    Party  lines  there  have  faded   away 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         200 


before  the  vision  of  all  sincere  and  patriotic 
men.  The  people  are  standing  together  for 
their  common  good.  If  I  was  in  Missouri,  I 
•would  vote  for  Joseph  W.  Folk  for  governor, 
and  if  I  were  a  citizen  of  Wisconsin,  I  would 
vote  for  the  re-election  of  Governor  La  Follette. 

I  sometimes  wonder  if  we  are  not  forget- 
ting what  it  means  to  be  a  citizen  of  this 
country.  There  is  an  obligation  that  rests  on 
the  conscience  of  every  true  man.  What  a 
splendid  government  we  have  and  how  much 
it  does  for  us !  Can  we  forget  this  ?  This  gov- 
ernment cannot  survive  if  patriotism  and  the 
sense  of  individual  obligation  dies  out  among 
the  people.  The  American  flag  protects  us  in 
every  land  and  on  every  sea.  The  power  that 
it  represents,  the  liberty  that  it  guarantees, 
makes  the  American  citizen  hold  up  his  head 
m  every  seaport  on  the  globe.  Can  we  re- 
member this  and  at  the  same  time  fold  our 
hands  placidly  and  say  there  is  no  issue  in 
politics  while  conspiracy  against  free  govern- 
ment is  plotted  and  carried  out  under  the  very 
dome  of  our  state  house? 

As  an  illustration  of  what  our  government 
does  for  us,  I  am  reminded  of  a  story,  told  be- 
fore, but  worthy  to  be  told  again.     An  Ameri- 


£10        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

can  boy  had  unwittingly  taken  service  upon  a 
Cuban  vessel  some  years  ago  when  the  Cubans 
were  in  rebellion  against  the  Spanish  govern- 
ment. The  Cuban  vessel  was  captured  by  the 
Spaniards,  and  the  crew,  including  the  Ameri- 
can boy,  accused  of  piracy,  and  were  ordered 
to  be  shot  the  next  morning  at  sunrise.  The 
young  man  was  innocent  of  any  intended 
wrong.  He  did  not  fully  understand  the  char- 
acter of  the  vessel  on  which  he  was  employed. 
And  now  this  new  danger  and  awful  fate  that 
was  waiting  for  him  stirred  his  dull  wits  to  the 
utmost  for  some  means  of  escape.  When  he 
had  grasped  the  full  meaning  that  the  power 
of  a  great  government  across  the  sea  was  about 
to  be  used  against  him,  he  began  to  consider 
seriously  the  relations  of  a  government  to  its 
citizens,  and  whether  there  was  not  some  re- 
lation between  him  and  his  government  that 
cculd  be  now  used  for  his  benefit.  He  remem- 
bered how  as  a  little  boy  he  had  followed  his 
father  down  the  mountain  path  from  his  old 
Virginia  home  to  the  little  village  where  the 
Fourth  of  July  celebration  was  in  progress. 
The  stars  and  stripes  were  waving  from  the-iop 
of  the  tall  flag  pole;  how  it  was  explained  to 
him  at  that  celebration  that  thst  was  the  Ameri- 


Tlie  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         211 

can  flag;  that  tliat  flag  was  the  sign  of  the 
American  government,  and  that  wherever  that 
flag  floated,  whether  on  land  or  sea,  it  carried 
with  it  the  power  of  all  the  American  people 
for  it  was  their  flag  and  represented  their  gov- 
ernment. The  power  which  it  represented  was 
pledged  to  protect  the  humblest  American  citi- 
zen wherever  he  might  be  in  any  country  or  on 
any  sea  on  the  whole  face  of  the  earth.  And 
now  as  this  boy  sat  there  in  the  Spanish  prison 
waiting  for  the  hours  to  be  counted  before  his 
execution,  he  wondered  if  what  he  had  heard 
?X  the  Fourth  of  July  celebration  was  really 
true,  and  how  could  he  make  the  connection 
again  which  lie  had  lost  between  himself  and 
his  government.  He  found  out  in  conversing 
with  his  associates  in  prison  that  there  was  an 
American  consul  at  that  port,  and  he  managed 
to  get  word  to  that  officer,  who  went  to  the 
Spanish  authorities  and  protested  against  his 
execution  because  he  was  innocent  and  an 
American  citizen.  The  intercession  of  the 
American  consul  was  brushed  aside.  They  told 
him  that  the  young  man  had  been  taken  in  a 
Cuban  ship  in  the  act  of  piracy,  and  that  there 
was  no  time  to  investigate  as  to  his  inocence, 
or  as  to  his  citizenship,  and  that  the  execution 


212        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

would  take  place  as  ordered,  the  next  morning 
at  sunrise.  While  the  grays  of  the  morning 
light  were  glinting  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic, 
the  American  boy  was  thinking  of  the  little 
cabin  where  he  was  born,  up  among  the  Vir- 
ginia hills.  He  thought  of  his  mother,  of  the 
scenes  of  his  early  childhood,  of  the  Fourth  of 
July  celebration  down  at  the  cross-road  town, 
and  now  with  all  hope  gone,  it  seemed  that 
the  flag  story  after  all  was  not  really  true. 

The  prisoners  were  formed  in  line,  the 
American  boy  with  the  rest.  The  firing  squad 
with  loaded  guns  stood  waiting  for  the  com- 
mand to  fire.  But  just  at  that  moment  the 
American  consul  came  running  down  the  i 
carrying  an  American  flag.  Hurrying  forward 
to  where  the  Virginia  boy  stood  in  line  waiting 
for  the  death  shot,  he  wrapped  the  flag  around 
the  prisoner,  and  then  turning  to  the  com- 
manding officer  he  said;  "You  put  one  bullet 
ir.to  that  flag,  if  you  dare;  that  boy  is  an  inno- 
cent American  citizen,  and  if  you  shoot  him 
down  the  power  of  the  American  government 
will  wipe  the  government  of  Spain  off  the  face 
of  the  earth  and  sink  your  isl  md  into  the  &>ea." 

I   don't   know  Low  you   feel   about   it,   bnt 
when    my    government    is    strong    enough    and 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         218 

brave  enough  to  stand  for  me,  I  want  to  stand 
for  it.  I  want  to  stand  for  what  the  govern- 
ment stands  for,  protection  and  security  for 
its  citizens.  But  I  will  not  stand  under  the 
cover  of  party  loyalty,  or  any  other  subterfuge, 
and  be  silent  for  party  sake  while  an  organzed 
band  of  party  usurpers  procures  the  control  of 
my  state  government. 

■  If  I  am  elected  governor,  I  promise  you 
that  I  will  recommend  to  the  next  legislature 
and  exert  every  possible  influence  at  my  com- 
mand to  put  into  the  statutes  such  laws  as  will 
once  and  for  all  destroy  The  Free  Pass  System 
in  Xebraska. 

I  also  promise  you  that  I  will  use  every  in- 
fluence I  have  for  the  enactment  of  a  law  mak- 
ing professional  lobbying  in  the  legislature  a 
felony.  The  maintenance  of  a  professional 
lobby  at  the  state  capitol  leads  to  corruption  and 
must  be  abolished. 

I  favor  the  repeal  of  the  present  revenue 
law  and  the  passage  of  a  new  law  that  will 
distribute  equally  and  justly  the  burdens  of  tax- 
ation. 

There  are  many  other   measures    thai    will 
have  to  be  coe  ;     red.     I  will   not  preti 
give  an  outline  here.     We  uin       '.  -    restore  the 


&H        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

state  government  and  then  we  will  address  our- 
selves to  the  consideration  of  every  important 
question.  I  want  this  campaign  to  be  a  living 
protest  against  present  methods  in  state  affairs. 
Against  the  present  administration  and  its 
methods  I  am  going  to  lead  a  revolt.  I  am 
going  to  insist  that  the  business  of  the  state 
shall  be  run  as  carefully  and  as  judiciously  as 
any  man's  private  business. 

I  call  to  the  populists  of  the  state  to  stand 
by  me  in  this  fight.  I  know  of  the  sacrifices 
you  have  made.  I  know  of  the  high  and  lofty 
patriotism  that  has  moved  you  in  other  cam- 
paigns, and  I  appeal  to  you  with  confidence 
that  you  will  help  me.  I  call  to  every  democrat 
In  the  state  to  re-inforce  me  in  this  fight  to 
brine;  back  our  state  government.  I  need  your 
help  and  I  feel  confident  you  will  not  withhold 
it.  I  call  upon  republicans  to  give  me  your 
help.  I  want  you  to  help  me  in  this  fight  be- 
cause our  cause  is  common  ground. 

Better  far,  that  the  people  of  the  state, 
without  regard  to  politics,  join  hands  in  this 
emergency  to  restore  the  state  government,  than 
tr  march  under  a  partisan  flag  and  help  win  a 
partisan  victory  for  partisan  bosses. 

Better  far,  march  in  the  vanguard  of  the 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         215 


hosts  of  reform  and  help  blaze  the  way  for  self- 
government  again,  than  bear  a  flickering  torch 
in  the  rear  of  the  procession  in  an  armv  of  ex- 
ploitation and  rnin. 

Better  far,  be  right  than  be  wrong.     Better 
far,  be  an  American  citizen  than  a  partisan. 


The  Government  cf  Oor  Cities, 


The  Free  Puss  Bribery  System.        219 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

THE  GOVERNMENT  OF  OUR  CITIES. 

The  government  of  our  cities  seems  to  per- 
plex the  most  sanguine  believers  in  our  form  of 
government.  Our  cities  seem  to  be  the  weak 
places  in  our  body  politic.  Corruption  and  a 
flagrant  disregard  of  the  people's  rights  char- 
acterizes the  official  conduct  of  our  misgoverned 
cities.  V\Te  continue  to  hope  for  better  condi- 
tions, but  I  believe  they  will  continue  to  grow 
worse  as  long  as  present  methods  obtain.  There 
may  be  brief  intervals  of  improvement,  but  the 
tide  will  soon  recede  again,  and  all  that  is  bad 
will  assert  itself  and  have  full  swing.  The 
remedy,  in  my  judgment,  can  only  be  found  in 
certain  fundamental  changes.  We  must  lay 
the  axe  at  the  root  of  the  evil.  Before  we  can 
expect  improvement  we  must  fundamentally  set 
ourselves  right. 

In  the  first  place,  the  curse  of  all  cities  is 
partisan  politics.  Partisan  politcs  is  the  child 
of  the  politician.  The  politician  is  a  corporation 


220         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

man.  "With  few  exceptions  he  is  a  pass-holder. 
Pass-holders  are  the  representatives  of  the  rail- 
roads. The  colorations  profit  by  partisan  poli- 
tics but  the  people  do  not.  Partisanship,  there- 
fore, is  a  weapon  used  by  the  corporations  for 
their  profit  and  it  always  is  an  injury  to  the 
people  in  city  government.  I  have  always  be- 
lieved, that  in  city  elections,  men  should  be 
selected  for  officials  who  are  known  for  their 
integrity  and  standing  in  the  community,  and 
not  because  they  are  members  of  any  political 
party.  We  cannot  have  good  city  government 
when  we  do  not  vote  for  it.  As  long  as  people 
are  partisans  at  city  elections  they  will 
vote  for  parties  and  not  good  government 
and  as  long  as  this  partisan  spirit  prevails,  so 
long  will  we  talk  about  better  government  for 
our  cities,  but  not  have  it.  As  long  as  parti- 
sanship rules  our  cities  so  long  will  the  govern- 
ment of  our  cities  be  sacrificed  to  state  and  na- 
tional politics.  People  generally  do  not  realize 
it,  but  it  is  always  the  pass-holders  and  machine 
politicians  or  their  satellites  who  raise  the  cry 
of  party  fealty  at  municipal  elections.  Pass- 
holders  cry  party  fealty  and  keep  alive  this 
sentiment.  They  do  this  because  they  are  the 
hired   agents   of  the  corporations   and  it  pays 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         221 

the  corporations  to  have  a  strong  partisan  senti- 
ment among  the  people.  These  pass-holders 
tell  us  that  Ave  must  be  loyal  to  our  party  ticket 
so  that  we  can  carry  the  state  or  the  nation  in 
the  approaching  campaign.  Analyze  this  and 
what  does  it  mean  ?  It  means  that  this  party 
will  carry  the  city  election  and  then  use  the 
entire  machinery  of  the  city  government  to 
boost  some  one  into  office  in  the  state  or  in  the 
nation.  For  some  unaccountable  reason  people 
have  come  to  believe  that  to  serve  their  party 
well  they  must  be  loyal  to  their  party  at  city 
elections.  They  want  to  be  regular  and  you 
will  hear  them  boast  how  always  they  vote  their 
ticket  straight.  ISTo  more  erroneous  idea  could 
enter  the  mind  of  even  a  partisan.  We  serve 
our  party  best  when  we  serve  our  country,  our 
state,  and  our  city  first. 

Behold  the  spectacle !  While  valuable 
franchises  are  given  away;  while  corporations 
elect  public  officials  to  serve  them  instead  of 
the  people;  while  pass-holding  officials  perpet- 
uate themselves  in  office  year  after  year;  while 
the  indebtedness  of  our  cities  is  piling  up  until 
taxation  amounts  to  almost  confiscation  of  our 
property;  while  corruption  rules  almost  every 
department   of  the   city,   and   while   the   moral 


222         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

conditions  that  prevail  are  almost  intolerable ; 
while  these  shameful  conditions  confront  us  in 
onr  American  cities,  we  find  so-called  respect- 
able Christian  people,  free  American  citizens, 
being  hauled  to  the  polls  by  ward  bosses,  and 
corporation  pass-holders  to  again  elect  these 
bosses  and  pass-holders  to  office  so  that  the  peo- 
ple will  be  further  robbed  and  plundered  and 
demoralized.  If  in  government  there  is  such 
a  thing  as  an  unpardonable  sin,  this  intolerable 
behavior  on  the  part  of  free  American  citizens 
surely  is  that  sin.  In  cities  where  two  political 
parties  are  nearly  evenly  matched,  there  is  a 
semblance  of  decency  and  orderly  government, 
but  where  one  party  overwhelmes  the  other  in 
numbers,  the  worst  element  in  the  city,  the 
corporation  tools,  the  pass-bribed  politicians 
lead  the  host,  and  the  so-called  better  element 
does  nothing  but  carry  a  flickering  torch  in  the 
rear  of  the  procession.  These  conditions  will 
never  be  changed  as  long  as  people  listen  to 
the  siren  voice  of  the  pass-holders.  The  people 
may  not  realize  it,  but  the  truth  is  that  the 
worst  element  in  our  cities  is  responsible  for 
this  partisan  feeling  among  the  better  classes. 
People  may  resent  the  idea,  but  it  is  the  truth 
nevertheless  that  the  wholesome  influence  of  the 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         223 


good  people  of  any  city  is  not  only  weakened 
but  nearly  entirely  destroyed  because  of  parti- 
sanship ready  made  and  handed  down  by  the 
pass-holders  and  party  bosses. 

The  next  fundamental  weakness  in  our  pres- 
ent methods  of  city  government  is  the  baneful 
influence  of  the  corporations.  I  have  about 
made  up  my  mind  that  it  is  almost  impossible, 
under  present  conditions,  to  control  interested 
corporations  in  our  cities.  Just  as  long  as  pri- 
vate corporations  can  knock  at  our  municipal 
doors  and  secure  valuable  franchises  and  do 
that  which  the  city  itself  should  do,  just  so  long 
will  these  corporations,  and  not  the  people, 
govern  our  cities.  This  is  not  all.  These  public 
service  corporations  join  hands  with  the  rail- 
roads and  this  combination  of  corporate  power 
is  invulnerable  so  far  as  the  people  arc  con- 
cerned. The  people  are  absolutely  shut  out. 
In  some  cities  the  people  believe  they  have 
something  to  do  with  the  running  of  the  gov- 
ernment of  their  cities.  But  this  is  an  idle 
dream.  Our  cities  are  run  by  the  corporations 
without  any  real  interfeiv  n  e  from  the  people. 
To  control  the  government  of  our  cities  the  c  ir- 
porations  must  control  the  city  officials.  The  • 
officials  enter  into  a  conspiracy   with    t'  e  cor- 


2%lf.        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

porations  to  defeat  the  people's  will.  This  they 
are  compelled  to  do  in  order  to  be  elected.  This 
has  been  notably  shown  in  Philadelphia,  in 
Milwaukee,  in  St.  Louis  and  in  other  cities 
over  the  country  where  thorough  investigations 
have  been  made.  Say  what  you  will,  these 
public  officials  are  controlled  because  they  are 
bribed  by  the  corporations.  In  most  cases  they 
are  bribed  with  passes,  sometimes  by  promises 
oi  political  reward,  and  sometimes  with  money. 
Money  bribery,  however,  is  not  as  often  re- 
sorted to  as  other  forms  of  bribery.  The  worst 
form  of  bribery  in  our  cities  is  pass  bribery. 
This  is  so  because  its  influence  is  so  insidious 
that  people  who  will  not  acept  money  accept 
passes.  But  the  work  of  bribery  is  just  as 
effective  as  though  money  had  been  paid.  The 
corporations  therefore  are  able  to  control  the 
government  of  our  cities  largely  through  the 
bribing  influence  of  the  free  pass.  I  venture 
the  assertion  that  in  every  city  of  any  size  all 
councilmen  and  mayors  have  passes  in  their 
pockets,  not  only  from  the  railroads,  but  from 
the  street  cars.  It  also  has  been  shown  that 
they  receive  special  favors  from  other  public 
service  corporations,  such  as  rebates  on  the  gas 
and  water  they  consume.     Say  what  you  will, 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         £25 

you  cannot  get  fair  and  impartial  administra- 
tion that  way. 

When  these  franchises  are  no  longer  grant- 
ed, then  these  public  service  corporations  will 
no  longer  molest  us  in  the  administration  of 
the  affairs  of  our  cities.  Before,  however,  we 
can  get  rid  entirely  of  the  corporation  influence 
the  government  must  also  own  the  railroads. 
As  it  is  now,  if  a  private  corporation  owns  a 
gas  plant,  that  corporation  will  want  friendly 
members  in  the  council ;  if  a  private  corpora- 
tion owns  a  water  plant,  that  corporation  will 
want  to  know  how  the  mayor  stands  on  certain 
questions ;  if  a  private  corporation  owns  a  tele- 
phone franchise,  it  will  want  to  know  what 
kind  of  a  charter  the  city  is  going  to  adopt; 
if  a  private  corporation  owns  and  operates  a 
street  car  system,  that  corporation  will  inter- 
fere with  the  free  expression  of  the  will  of  the 
people  on  election  day.  All  this  is  shameful. 
American  cities  by  this  time  must  be  convinced 
that  these  private  corporations  and  monopolies 
are  all  greater  and  stronger  than  the  city  itself, 
and  that  these  corporations,  and  not  the  people, 
rule.  And  what  is  worse,  these  corporations 
do  not  stop  at  the  doors  of  the  city  councils, 
but  they  go  to  the  state  legislatures  and  thera 


226         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

dictate  charaters  and  limit  the  powers  of  city 
officials. 

As  I  said  above,  in  all  cities  of  any  size 
mayors  and  councilmen  are  favored  with  free 
passes  for  everything  that  costs  money  to  the 
average  citizen.  That  the  railroads  and  public 
service  corporations  expect  favors  in  return  I 
need  not  stop  to  argue.  I  will  simply  state 
the  conclusion  that  they  expect  favors  in  re- 
turn and  that  they  get  them.  A  prominent  mag- 
azine writer  recently  told  us  how  a  coluncil- 
man  from  a  certain  city  lobbied  in  the  legisla- 
ture of  his  state  for  the  passage  of  a  bill,  which 
would  limit  his  own  power  as  a  councilman  so 
that  he  could  not  legally  compel  a  certain  public 
service  corporation  to  do  what  the  people  want- 
ed. 'Such  loyalty  commands  respect.  The  only 
trouble  with  it  is  that  it  runs  to  the  wrong  party. 
He  forgot  his  constituents,  but  de  did  not  for- 
get the  corporations  with  which  he  had  made 
a  bargain  and  sale  of  not  only  his  vote  but  his 
conscience  and  his  manhood. 

In  the  city  of  Lincoln  at  the  present  time 
we  have  two  telephone  systems.  Personally  I 
am  opposed  to  this.  There  should  be  but  one 
system  in  this  city  and  the  city  should  own 
that.     I  so  expressed  myself  the  other  day  to 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.        227 

a  member  of  the  council.  I  was  told  by  the 
councilman  that  if  the  council  had  had  the 
power  to  regulate  the  one  system  we  had,  the 
franchise  would  not  have  been  granted  to  the 
other  company.  Upon  investigation  I  find  that 
the  council  is  helpless  and  that  it  cannot  regu- 
late telephone  rates  in  this  city.  It  is  very 
apparent  that  some  influence  was  at  work  in  our 
own  state  legislature  when  this  charter  was 
passed.  I  wonder  who  exerted  this  influence? 
Whoever  it  was,  I  make  the  prediction  that  his 
pockets  were  full  of  passes,  not  only  from  the 
railroads,  but  from  the  street  cars  of  this  city. 
The  pass-holder  must  go.  The  corporation 
agent  must  be  marked.  These  influences  must 
be  driven  out  of  our  city  politics  before  improve- 
ment will  come.  Our  cities  should  own  all  of 
these  public  service  corporations,  and  when  that 
lime  comes  the  blighting  influence  these  corpor- 
ations exert  in  our  cities  will  be  a  thing  of  the 
past. 

We  hear  a  great  deal  said  in  our  own  city 
about  the  price  of  gas.  I  have  been  looking 
the  matter  up  a  little.  In  doing  so  I  have  been 
astounded  at  what  is  being  done  by  cities  of 
the  oil  world.  I  cannol  give  yon  many  sta- 
tistics.     3ne  city   will  suffice.      What  is  dona 


%28        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

in  this  one  city  is  done  in  many  others,  and  it 
will  serve  as  a  fair  example  of  what  may  be 
done.  The  city  of  Manchester,  England,  has 
owned  its  gas  works  since  the  year  1817.  The 
profits  which  have  accrued  to  the  city,  since 
that  time,  from  this  source,  amount  to  more 
than  $12,000,000.  The  rate  charged  is  sixty 
cents  per  thousand  cubic  feet.  I  read  that  last 
year  the  city  of  Manchester  received  a  net  profit 
of  over  one  million  dollars  from  this  one  source. 
What  is  true  of  the  gas  proposition  in  most  of 
these  foreign  cities,  is  also  true  of  street  car, 
water  works,  and  other  public  utilities.  In 
some  of  these  cities  in  England  the  following  is 
a  list  of  the  most  popular  objects  of  municipal 
ownership :  Dwellings  for  the  working  classes, 
tramways,  gas  works,  electric  lighting  and 
power  plants,  markets,  telephones,  baths  and 
washhouses,  refuse  and  sewer  disposals,  ceme- 
teries, work  (Jepartments,  etc.  And  let  me  say, 
these  plants  are  not  promoted  and  sustained  by 
money  raised  from  taxation.  They  are  not 
onlj  elf-supporting,  but,  in  addition,  throw 
large  earnings  into  the  public  treasuries,  and 
in  fact  reduce  general  taxation  instead  of  in- 
creasing it  as  many  suppose.  By  the  cities 
owning    and    operating    these    franchises,    the 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         229 

cities  not  only  get  rid  of  the  blighting  and  de- 
bauching influences  of  private  corporations,  but 
also  supply  the  people  these  necessities  of  life 
cheaper  and  increase  the  revenues  of  the  cities 
and  decrease  taxation.  Why  our  American 
cities  have  so  long  submitted  to  these  extortions 
from  private  corporations  and  these  debauching 
influences  in  our  municipal  life,  I  cannot  under- 
stand. Before  we  can  hope  to  solve  the  prob- 
lem of  city  government  we  must  correct  this 
fundamental  error  in  the  government  of  our 
cities. 

The  people  of  our  cities  must  begin  to  sep- 
arate the  sheep  from  the  goats.  This  is  a  peo- 
ple's government,  and  n»t  a  government  by  the 
corporations.  If,  however,  the  people  continue 
to  permit  the  corporations  to  govern  our  cities, 
they  must  not  complain  if  the  corporations 
debauch  our  city  governments.  I  know  of  no 
other  way  of  handling  this  question  than  to 
make  an  open  warfare  upon  all  of  the  wrong 
doings  of  the  corporations  and  drive  them  out 
of  politics.  They  have  their  rights  and  in  these 
rights  they  should  be  protected.  These  rights, 
however,  are  property  rights,  and  as  such  are  as 
sacred  as  the  rights  of  any  citizen  living  in  the 
cities.      Political   rights   do  not   belong  to  cor- 


230         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

porations.  They  belong  to  human  beings,  and 
the  corporations  have  no  right  to  intrude  on 
this  sacred  ground.  The  corporations  must  be 
driven  out  of  politics  and  I  lay  it  down  as  a 
fundamental  principal  that  it  cannot  be  done 
as  long  as  pass-holders  are  elected  to  office  and 
are  permitted  to  control  our  city  politics.  This 
is  the  case  at  the  present  time.  Let  every  citi- 
zen in  our  cities  shout  it  from  house  to  house, 
from  ward  to  ward,  and  from  city  to  city  that 
all  pass-holders  and  corporation  agents  must  be 
driven  from  our  city  politics. 


Editorials  From  The  Independent 


The  following  Editorials  bearing  upon  the  Rail- 
road Question  are  taken  from  The  Independent, 
of  which  Mr.  Berge  is  Editor  and  Publisher. 
They  appeared  in  The  Independent  between 
the  months  of  April  and  September,  1905. 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         238 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

EDITORIALS    FROM    THE    INDEPENDENT. 

CUT    OUT    THE    PASS-HOLDERS. 

The  Independent  believes  that  the  destruc- 
tion of  The  Free  Pass  System  is  the  first  prac- 
tical step  toward  railroad  regulation  in  Ne- 
braska. So  long  as  the  leaders  in  politics  ride 
free,  the  products  of  the  people  will  pay  ex- 
tortionate rates. 

To  destroy  The  Free  Pass  System  there  must 
be  a  stringent  anti-pass  law.  Before  an  anti- 
pass  law  can  be  enacted  there  must  be  selected 
and  elected  an  anti-pass  legislature. 

Before  there  can  be  an  anti-pass  legislature 
the  pass-holding  politicians  and  railroad  politi- 
cal agents  must  be  cut  out  of  the  nominating 
conventions. 

The  free  pass  is  the  price  the  railroads  pay 
for  the  control  of  our  politics.  It  is  useless  for 
the  newspapers  and  the  people  to  discuss  freight- 
rate  and  tax  reform  so  long  as  our  politics  and 
state  government  remain  in  the  control  of  the 


23Jf.        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

railroad  rate-makers  and  of  the  railroad  tax- 
shirkers.  The  railroad  corporations  in  posses- 
sion of  the  inner  strongholds  of  politics  are 
guarded  on  the  outside  by  the  free  pass  squad. 
To  rout  this  outside  guard  is  the  first  duty  of 
the  freight-robbed  and  tax-cheated  public.  The 
passholders  can  be  cut  down  and  their  pull  on 
the  politics  and  government  of  the  state  cut 
loose  by  cutting  them  out  of  the  next  county, 
district  and  state  conventions.  The  starting 
point  for  this  work  is  in  the  ward  and  precinct 
caucuses.  The  passholders  can  be  crowded  out 
of  the  caucuses  by  the  freightpayers  and  tax- 
payers. The  passholders  can  be  kept  out  of 
the  county  conventions.  With  the  county  con- 
ventions untrammeled  by  railroad  dictation, 
district,  legislative,  judicial,  congressional  and 
state  conventions  can  be  manned  with  honest, 
earnest  and  effective  men,  who  will  nominate 
legislators,  judges,  congressmen  and  state  offi- 
cers, free  from  the  free  pass  influence. 

But  the  ward  caucus  is  the  field  where  the 
first  fight  must  be  won  by  the  people,  or  their 
whole  cause  is  lost.  If  the  passholders  control 
the  caucuses  they  will  control  the  conventions, 
the  nominations,  and  the  government  that  fol- 
lows. 

When  the  old-time  passholders  at  Lincoln, 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.        235 

York,  Seward,  Grand  Island,  Hastings,  Fre- 
mont, Hebron,  Falls  City,  Beatrice  and  other 
such  cities  are  elected  as  delegates  to  the  county 
conventions,  that  means  that  their  influence 
will  control  the  nominations,  and  that  these  lo- 
calities will  send  railroad  tools  to  the  legislature. 
Railroad  tools  in  the  legislature  means  no 
rate-reduction  law,  no  anti-pass  law,  no  revenue 
law  that  will  compel  railroad  property  to  pay 
its  just  proportion  of  taxes,  and  no  laws  of  any 
character  except  such  as  are  consented  to  by 
the  railroad  corporations.  Railroad  power  in 
the  legislature,  in  the  state  house,  and  in  con- 
gress starts  when  the  foxy  old  passholder  starts 
from  his  home  to  the  political  caucus.  If  the 
voter  in  each  town  will  start  for  the  caucus 
at  the  same  time,  he  can  crowd  the  pass- 
holders  out;  and  right  at  this  point,  where  the 
pass  holder  is  crowded  out  and  kept  away  from 
the  county  convention,  is  where  the  people  will 
begin  to  bring  Representative  government  back 
to  this  state. 


CHOOSING   A  CONGRESSMAN 

The  important  duty  of  choosing  a  member 
of  the  house  of  representatives  from  the  First 
Congressional  District  of  Nebraska,  to  succeed 


236        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

Mr.  Burkett,  confronts  the  freight-payers  of 
that  district.  For  many  years  the  freight- 
payers  of  that  district  have  shirked  their  duty. 
They  have  not  seemed  to  apprehend  that  they 
had  any  duty  to  perform  or  any  part  in  the 
selection  of  the  congressional  representative. 
The  holders  of  free  passes,  acting  under  in- 
structions from  the  railroad  managers,  have 
taken  it  upon  themselves  to  select  congressmen, 
leaving  the  producers  and  consumers  nothing 
to  do  but  pay  the  extortionate  freight  bills. 

Of  late  the  freightp avers  of  the  district 
have  been  showing  an  unusual  interest  in  na- 
tional legislation.  The  action  of  President 
Roosevelt  has  caused  the  whole  country  to  look 
toward  Washington  for  some  practical  rail- 
road regulation.  The  President  has  done  a 
service  to  the  whole  people  in  his  demand  for 
a  square  deal  law.  Rut  of  what  avail  is  all 
this,  if  the  freightpayers  continue  to  send  pass- 
holders  to  the  congressional  conventions,  and  if 
through  these  passholders  the  railroads  are  able 
t)  select  the  congressman? 

The  railroad-procured  congressman  will 
smile  patronizingly  on  the  freightpayers,  and 
will  advertise  his  consent  to  tbe  square  deal 
demand  of  President  Roosevelc;  but  the  public 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         231 

may  depend  upon  it  that  the  railroad-procured 
congressman  will  do,  when  the  tug-of-war  comes 
at  Washington,  not  what  the  President  of  the 
United  States  wants  done,  hut  what  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  railroad  wants  done. 

The  duty  of  the  voters  of  the  First  Con- 
gressional District  is  plain.  They  should  or- 
ganize among  themselves  at  once,  strike  down 
the  passholders  in  every  part  of  the  district, 
capture  the  local  caucuses,  control  the  county 
conventions,  control  the  district  conventions, 
and  nominate  the  congressional  candidate  out- 
side of  the  passholder's  organization, — and  with- 
out any  suggestions  or  dictation  from  them. 

The  voters  of  the  First  Congressional  Dis- 
trict have  already  endorsed  what  the  President 
has  recommended,  a  square  deal  on  railroad 
rates,  and  now  let  them  suit  their  actions  to 
their  words.  Give  the  President  and  his 
square  deal  doctrine  a  chance  by  sending  him 
a  square  man  from  the  First  Congressional 
District.,  Most  of  the  candidates  now  offering 
themselves  are  bound  hand-and-foot  by  the 
shackles  of  the  railroad  pass  machine.  Tha 
only  way  to  defeat  the  corporations  is  to  defn.t 
their  man.  The  passholder,  wherever  you  find 
him,  whether  a  delegate  or  a  candidate  in  the 


238        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

congressional  convention,  is  a  railroad  man. 
This  pass  machine  is  at  work  now  in  every  part 
of  the  First  District.  The  slates  are  heing 
made  out  and  the  delegates  agreed  on  in  every 
ward  and  precinct.  If  the  passholders  control 
the  selection  of  delegates  from  the  wards  and 
precincts,  thev  will  have  the  people  whipped 
to  a  finish  even  before  the  convention  meets. 

Leave  the  passholders  at  home.  The  people 
can  defeat  the  railroad  plan  only  by  defeating 
the  man  who  has  its  bribe  in  his  pocket  and 
who  is  under  agreement  to  serve  its  purposes. 
If  the  people  in  the  First  Congressional  Dis- 
trict ever  expect  to  stand  for  their  rights,  now 
is  the  time.  It  would  not  be  a  square  deal 
from  the  people  here,  but  an  insult  to  tJ»e  Presi- 
dentv  to  send  him  a  shuffling  trimmer  with 
railroad  passes  in  his  pocket.  There  will  never 
be  an  effective  interstate  commerce  law  until 
the  freight  payers  are  plucky  enough  and  en- 
ergetic enough  to  shut  the  passholders  out  of  the 
congressional  conventions  and  out  of  congress. 


PASSES,   POVERTY,  AND   POLITiCIANS. 

When  the  South  Omaha  packing  house 
sirike  of  last  year  was  settled,  one  of  the  strike 
breakers  lot  out  of  work  was  Mose  Jackson,  y 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         239 

colored  man.  Leaving  his  family  at  Omaha, 
I19  went  to  Kansas  City,  where  he  obtained  em- 
ployment as  a  butcher,  sending  a  part  of  his 
wages  each  week  to  his  family.  One  Monday 
afternoon  in  the  early  part  of  January  he  re- 
ceived a  telegram  informing  him  that  his  wife 
was  dangerously  sick.  He  must  come  on  the 
first  train  if  he  would  see  her  before  she  died. 
He  had  no  money  for  the  railroad  fare  to 
Omaha,  for  he  had  already  remitted  to  his  fam- 
ily his  surplus  earnings  for  the  previous  week. 
Would  his  employer  trust  him  for  a  week's 
wages  in  advance.  ~No.  He  had  no  friends 
in  Kansas  City.  He  had  only  acquaintances, 
and  they  were  limited  to  those  of  his  own  race, 
each  of  them  as  poor  as  himself.  There  was 
no  one  to  whom  he  could  appeal,  and  yet  ho 
had  one  noble  trait  in  his  character,  he  loved 
his  wife.  With  the  one  thought  in  his  mind 
that  he  must  see  her,  lie  mounted  the  ''blind 
baggage"  as  the  Omaha  train  pulled  out  with 
the  thermometer  down  to  twenty  below.  The 
next  morning  about  six  o'clock  two  traveling 
men  discovered  him  huddled  up  in  a  heap, 
like  a  dumb  animal,  nearly  dead  from  the  cold. 
The  traveling  men — God  reward  the  traveling 
men    for   their    many    kind    deeds! — took   him 


2JiO        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

into  the  warm  sleeper.  They  gave  him  some- 
thing hot  to  drink.  They  held  his  frozen  hands 
in  their  warm  palms.  They  wrapped  his  numb 
feet  in  warm  bandages.  When  he  recovered 
consciousness  and  was  able  to  talk,  he  broke 
out  into  piteous  sobs.  Was  the  train  late  ?  And 
would  he  reach  Omaha  in  time  to  see  his  wife 
while  she  was  yet  alive?  The  traveling  men 
assured  him  that  the  train  was  on  time.  They 
procured  a  warm  breakfast  for  him  and  tended 
him  with  as  much  care  as  if  his  skin  had  been 
white.  As  the  train  pulled  into  Omaha  he 
thanked  them  warmly  for  one  of  the  very  few 
kindnesses  which  he  had  received  in  all  his 
lifetime  and  hurried  away  to  his  dying  wife.     - 

On  that  same  train,  where  the  moneyless 
black  man  rode  the  "blind  baggage"  with  the 
thermometer  at  twenty  below,  and  where  the 
traveling  men  and  the  common  people  had  paid 
their  fare,  were  several  politicians  who  were 
able  to  pay,  but  who  did  not  pay,  either  for 
their  fare  on  the  train  or  for  their  beds  in  the 
Pullman  car. 


RETURN  THE  PASSES. 

If  the  state  officers  charged  with  the  duty 
of  assessing  railroad  property  in  Nebraska  want 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         2J+1 


the  Nebraska  people  to  believe  that  they  are 
acting  on  the  square  in  the  matter,  why  do  they 
continue  to  hold  and  to  use  the  free  passes 
furnished  to  them,  their  families  and  their 
friends,  by  the  railroad  corporations,  who  are 
resisting  honest  taxation? 

Tree  passes  are  special  privileges  given  by 
the  railroads  to  procure  special  privileges   in 
return.     So  long  as  there  was  no  pretense  on 
the  part  of  the  state  board  to  assess  railroad 
property  on  any  other  basis  than  that  suggested 
by   the    railroad    managers,    the    state    officials 
could  justify  themselves  on  at  least  one  point. 
They  were  square  with  the  railroad  managers. 
They  had  received  a  special  privilege  and  they 
had   given  special   privileges   in  return.      But 
now  with  all  this  flourish  of  pretensions  com- 
ing through  the  daily  press  from  the  state  house, 
that  the  board  is  about  to  make  an  actually  fair 
assessment    of   railroad    property,    wouldn't    it 
seem  more  like  the  real  thing  if  the  member 
of  the  assessing  board  would  return  at  least  their 
own  passes  ? 

If  there  is  an  understanding  between  the 
railroads  and  the  passholders — and  the  pub- 
lic believes  there  is — and  if  the  free  pass  is 
the  consideration  in  this  secret  understanding, 


21/2        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


then  how  can  the  state  officers  deny  the  secret 
contract  and  still  retain  the  consideration? 
The  free  pass  in  the  pocket  of  the  official  is  a 
sign  to  the  people  that  he  is  in  some  way  a 
betrayer  of  their  interests.  Do  the  same  offi- 
cials want  the  Nebraska  people  to  understand 
that  it  is  their  intention  to  retain  the  passes, 
to  use  ihem  for  all  they  are  worth,  and  then 
betray  the  railroad  officials  who  have  issued 
them? 

The  Nebraska  people  want  no  betrayal. 
They  want  no  crooked  game  either  between  the 
officials  and  themselves,  or  between  the  officials 
and  the  railroads.  The  people  want  a  square 
deal.  They  want  the  railroad  property  assessed 
on  the  basis  of  what  it  is  actually  worth,  no 
more,  and  no  less.  The  members  of  the  assess- 
ing board  have  had  several  years  now  in  which 
to  think  out  and  formulate  a  plan  for  the  fair 
assessment  of  railroad  property.  And  yet 
there  seems  to  be  no  plan  except  to  toss  the 
question  from  one  proposition  to  another,  from 
one  basis  to  another,  from  one  official  to  an- 
other, in  that  same  indefinite  and  dodging  way 
in  which  the  legislative  members  flimflammed 
the  rate  question  only  a  few  weeks  ago.  "When 
the  people  find  out  that  the  members  of  the  a 3- 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.        21+3 

sessing  board  have  returned  their  free  passes 
they  will  begin  to  believe  that  there  is  no  secret 
contract  for  special  privileges  to  the  railroads 
and  that  the  board  is  actually  sincere  in  its  ef- 
forts to  make  an  honest  assessment  of  the  Ne- 
braska railroads. 


REGULATE   THE    LOE3Y. 

Lobbyists  can  only  be  suppressed  by  being 
treated  as  law-breakers  when  they  transgress 
certain  bounds.  Governor  Folk  of  Missouri 
discovered  their  bounds  and  curbed  the  opera- 
tions of  the  lobby  by  vigorous  action.  Like  the 
corporations  they  represent,  the  lobbyists  can 
be  regulated  until  such  time  as  the  railways 
become  the  property  of  the  government  and 
public  utilities  in  cities  the  property  of  the 
municipalities.  Then  the  occupation  of  the 
lobbyist  will  be  gone. 

During  the  recent  session  of  the  Nebraska 
legislature  the  lobbyists  plied  their  calling  with 
unexpected  boldness  and  effrontery.  Their  suc- 
cess in  thwarting  all  legislation  really  designed 
to  curb  the  interests  they  represented  is  notor- 
ious. This  success  was  attained  by  means 
no  better  and  no  worse  than  those  used  in  other 
years,   but   the   shame  of   it  was   more    '; 


2Jjb        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

felt  by  honest  I^ebraskans.  They  realized  thai 
the  influence  of  the  lobby  had  reasserted  itseli 
i:i  a  state  which  gave  much  power  to  the  initial 
impetus  of  the  reform  movement.  To  see  Ne- 
braska retrace  its  steps,  even  temporarily,  while 
in  a  neighboring  state  the  operations  of  a  con- 
scienceless lobby  were  being  suppressed,  was 
rightly  regarded  as  a  moral  catastrophe. 

Lobbyists  are  men  of  no  party  and  of  all 
parties.  They  serve  their  masters  with  the 
sole  conviction  that  money  is  more  valuable 
than  any  principle.  As  a  general  rule  they  are 
men  whose  candidacy  for  the  legislature  would 
be  regarded  as  a  grotesque  joke  and  yet  they 
are  permitted  to  control  legislation. 

A  typical  railway  lobby  is  formed  of  men 
with  whom  the  higher  officials  of  the  road  would 
be  loth  to  associate.  As  a  rule  the  lobby  is 
a  rank  offshot  of  a  railway  company's  legal 
department.  The  general  solicitor  of  such  a 
railway  would  no  more  think  of  associating 
with  one  of  his  hireling  lobbyists  than  he  would 
of  turning  bandit.  The  lobby  is  shepherded  by 
some  one  removed  a  second  or  a  third  degree 
from  the  chief  officer  of  the  department  to 
which  it  is  attached.  The  chief  officer  protects 
his    reputation   by   avoiding   socially   the   men 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.        2^5 

who  serve  his  purpose  in  politics.  But  to  be 
thus  despised  in  nowise  impairs  the  genial  dis- 
position of  the  lobbyist.  He  is  a  hail  fellow 
whenever  it  is  necessary,  but  this  "skillful  con- 
triver of  all  harms"  is  paid  to  meet  every  man 
in  his  humor  and  to  win  his  vote  by  money, 
passes  or  intimidation  and  by  even  more  de- 
grading methods  of  bribery  or  coercion. 

To  permit  these  men  to  operate  unchecked 
will  bring  disgrace  upon  any  state.  More  and 
more  the  people  of  the  country  are  beginning 
to  understand  this  and  the  time  is  not  far  off 
when  the  lobbyist  will  have  the  same  whole- 
some fear  of  the  law  as  that  now  entertained  by 
the  burglar  or  highwayman. 


THROW  THE   PIRATES  OVERBOARD. 

The  Independent,  in  its  crusade  against 
The  Free  Pass  System,  wants  to  be  understood 
as  making  no  apologies  for  pass-holding  popu- 
lists and  democrats.  We  believe  that  the  pass- 
holders  ought  to  be  cut  out  of  the  political  con- 
ventions, and  that  means  all  political  conven- 
tions of  all  political  parties.  The  passholder 
is  a  procured  and  bribed  man,  no  matter 
whether  he  realizes  it  or  not,  and  no  matter 
what  party  he  belongs  to,  and  as  such  he  has 


SSJ/6        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

no  moral  or  political  right  to  sit  as  a  dele- 
gate in  a  convention  which  pretends  to  repre- 
sent the  people.  The  pass  in  the  man's  pocket 
ij  a  sign  that  in  some  secret  way  he  serves  and 
represents  the  corporations.  And  being  a  secret 
representative  of  the  corporations,  he  can  not 
he  trusted  as  an  open  representative  of  the  peo- 
ple, for  the  political  issue  is  directly  between 
the  people  and  the  railroads. 

If  the  officers  and  crew  of  a  ship  at  sea 
should  find  themselves  suddenly  overpowered, 
the  ship  seized  and  in  the  control  of  a  band  of 
pirates,  these  officers  would  not  waste  time  in 
disputing  as  to  the  course  of  the  ship,  the  time 
she  was  making,  the  value  of  her  cargo  or  what 
port  she  would  finally  reach.  The  only  ques- 
tion for  them  would  be,  "How  can  we  regain 
control  of  the  ship  ?"  Once  again  in  control, 
the  officers  could  regulate  the  course  and  the 
speed  of  the  ship,  fix  its  destination  and  dis- 
pose of  its  cargo.  But  what  use  is  it  for  men 
to  discuss  what  ought  to  be  done  with  some- 
thing over  which  they  have  no  control  ? 

The  first  thing  is  to  get  control. 

!No  other  question  is  worth  considering  un- 
til that  is  accomplished.  Why  talk  of  tax 
rates  and  freight  rates  and  elevator  trusts  and 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         8J/.7 

money  trusts,  if  we  have  no  power  over  the 
government  which  has  these  matters  in  charge. 
If  the  pirates  are  in  control  of  the  ship,  the 
first  thing  to  do  is  to  overpower  the  pirates. 
If  the  pirates  will  not  surrender,  then  throw 
them  overboard. 

And  by  the  way,  does  anyone  know  of  any 
passholder  who  is  surrendering  his  free  trans- 
portation or  rescinding  the  old  contract  between 
himself  and  the  railroad  corporations  ?  The 
passholders  will  never  surrender  until  they  are 
overpowered  and  compelled  to  by  some  superior 
force.  We  must  throw  them  overboard  from 
all  the  political  parties.  We  must  get  control 
of  the  politics.  Any  of  the  political  parties, 
without  free  passes,  will  give  us  better  state 
government  than  any  one  of  the  political  parties 
with  free  passes.  Any  government  from  any 
party  of  the  people  will  be  better  than  govern- 
ment by  railroads.  Whatever  we  have  in  mind 
to  do,  let  us  first  cut  out  the  passholders  and 
get  control  of  the  ship. 


HOW  THE   RAILROADS  TAX  THE   PEOPLE. 

The  people  of  Boston  threw  the  tea  over- 
board because  they  wanted  to  protect  against 
axation  without  representation.     All  civilized 


2Jj8        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

people  guard  with  jealousy  the  right  to  tax,  for 
the  power  to  tax  means  power  to  govern. 

In  this  new  revenue  law  the  question  of 
the  power  to  tax  is  raised  into  an  issue  of  more 
importance  than  is  generally  understood  by  Ne- 
braska people.  The  railroads  of  the  state, 
which,  through  their  control  of  the  state  board, 
have  been  able  for  many  years  to  fix  the  tax  rate 
on  their  own  property,  have  never  until  now 
bc-en  able  to  dictate  also  the  tax  rate  on  the 
property  of  the  people.  By  the  old  method,  the 
people  elected  assessors  to  assess  their  property, 
leaving  the  state  board  to  assess  the  railroad 
property.  But  now,  under  this  new  law,  the 
township  assessors  are  appointed  and  organized 
into  a  county  assessing  machine,  under  the  con- 
trol of  the  county  assessor;  and  the  county 
assessors  are  organized  into  a  still  more  power- 
ful machine  under  the  control  of  the  state 
board ;  and  the  state  board,  being  an  official 
machine,  is  under  the  control  of  the  railroads. 
And  so  the  power  to  tax  the  people  has  passed 
into  the  hands  of  the  railroad  corporations. 

*  Under  the  new  revenue  law  the  state  board 
has  power  to  review  and  to  raise  the  tax  and 
to  summarily  remove  from  office  without  a 
hearing  any  or  all  of  the  local  assessors.     Should 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         2^9 

the  state  board  see  fit  to  do  so,  it  can,  for  it 
has  the  power,  remove  from  office  everyone 
of  the  hundreds  of  local  assessors  and  abso- 
lutely dictate  the  entire  taxing  system.  It  can 
increase,  according  to  its  own  will,  the  taxes  on 
every  home  and  one  every  horse,  ox,  cow,  sheep 
or  pig.  If  this  state  board  of  five  men  were 
really  selected  by  the  people,  and  if  the  board 
under  these  conditions  was  absolutely'  respon- 
sible to  the  people,  then  the  people,  if  they 
wanted  to,  could  oppress  the  railroads,  could 
have  their  own  property  taxed  low  and  the 
railroad  property  taxed  high.  But  if,  as  is 
actually  the  case,  this  board  of  five  at  the  state 
house  is  really  selected  by  the  railroads,  with 
this  tax  question  in  view,  and  if,  as  is  the  fact, 
they  are  under  the  controlling  influence  of  the 
railroads,  then,  with  this  taxing  power  all  in 
their  own  hands,  the  railroad  corporations  can 
shift  a  pari  of  their  tax  burden  upon  the  peo- 
ple, and  there  is  no  power  lr  any  citizen  or 
citizens  to  check  their  unbridled  sway. 

Is  this  right?  Will  any  fair  man  maintain 
that  this  centralization  of  the  taxing  power  is 
just  and  safe?    Especially  is  il  v  .  view 

of  the  ten  times  greater  direct  tax  burden  put 
upon  the  people  by  means    f 


260        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

rates.  And  especially  is  it  unsafe  in  view  of 
the  malign  influence  exerted  by  the  railroads 
over  this  taxing  board  and  over  the  whole  gov- 
ernment machinery  of  the  state.  In  the  cen- 
tralization of  power,  the  danger  is  always  to 
the  people  rather  than  to  the  corporations. 
There  is  no  danger  to  the  corporations,  and 
there  never  will  be  when  the  people  have  the 
control.  As  a  mass,  the  people  want  to  be 
just  and  they  want  their  officials  and  courts 
and  assessing  boards  to  be  just  to  all  corpora- 
tions and  corporation  property.  But  it  is  when 
the  people  distrust  their  officials,  when  they 
have  good  reason  to  believe  that  a  sinister  in- 
fluence is  between  them  and  their  public  ser- 
vants, when  they  are  baffled  year  after  year 
and  elbowed  away  from  the  control  of  their 
government — it  is  then,  and  not  till  then,  that 
the  people,  striking  out  blindly  in  self-defense, 
are  apt  to  barm  the  corporations  and  themselves 
at  the  same  time. 

What  do  the  Nebraska  people  see  when  they 
look  for  the  taxing  power  in  their  state  gov- 
ernment ?  They  see  five  men  at  the  State  House 
meeting  as  an  assessment  board,  meeting  and 
adjourning  day  after  day  and  week  after  week, 
advertising  always  through  the  newspaper  re- 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.        &5 1 

ports  the  honest  intentions  of  each  individual 
member,  advertising  the  particular  plan  of  this 
member  and  that  member  of  the  board,  advertis- 
ing many  different  plans — but  having  no  cer- 
tain or  central  plan  for  the  assessment  of  rail- 
road property,  although  the  question  has  been 
pending  as  a  business  proposition  before  the 
state  government  for  a  quarter  of  a  century. 
It  is  not  injustice  nor  partisan  abuse  of  the 
board  to  say  that  long  ago  it  should  have  adopted 
a  definite  plan  and  one  that  would  bear  the 
closest  scrutiny.  Why  does  it  shuffle  the  ques- 
tion from  one  member  of  the  board  to  the  other, 
from  one  meeting  time  to  another,  from  one 
year  to  the  other,  holding  the  question  of  rail- 
road assessment  always  in  suspense,  nagging 
and  fretting  the  people,  who  have  come  at  last 
to  believe  that  all  this  shuffling  is  intended 
finally  to  shuffle  upon  the  people  several  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars  of  the  '"tax  burden  that 
the  corporations  ought  to  bear.  And  the  rail- 
road attorneys  confidently  believe  that  the  peo- 
ple will  bear  the  burden  without  ever  finding 
out  their  predicament. 

If  the  free  rides  which  the  board  members 
and  their  thousands  of  political  friends  receive 
were  being  paid  for  in  cash  by  the  people,  the 


252        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

railroads  would  have  reason  to  be  jealous,  and 
to  distrust  the  board  on  the  tax  question.  If  on 
the  other  hand  these  thousands  of  annual  passes 
are  given  out  on  the  sly  by  the  railroads,  and 
if  this  official  taxing  board  is  a  part  of  this 
free  pass  machine,  the  people  have  a  right  to 
be  jealous  and  to  distrust  the  board,  and  they 
do  distrust  it. 

The  present  revenue  law  looks  very  much 
like  a  new  railroad  machine.  If  these  various 
railroad  political  machines  that  dovetail  into 
each  other  to  form  the  Nebraska  state  gov- 
ernment continue  to  multiply,  the  people  of 
Nebraska  will  soon  have  as  little  of  representa- 
tive government  as  had  the  people  of  Massa- 
chusetts when  they  threw  the  tea  into  Boston 
harbor. 


LET  DEMOCRATS  BEWARE. 
The  Independent  has  called  upon  the  re- 
publican aspirants  for  congressional  honors  to 
reject  free  pass  delegates.  Now  that  the  demo- 
cratic congressional  convention  for  the  First 
District  has  been  called  The  Independent  re- 
news its  warning.  This  publication  is  merely 
voicing  the  demand  of  the  people  when  it  in- 
sists that  the  railways  be  refused  any  part  in 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         253 

the  selectio/i  of  those  who  shall  represent  Ne- 
braska in  congress.  As  usual  the  railways  will 
attempt  to  gain  control  in  that  quarter  which 
promises  the  best  prospect  of  success,  but  they 
will  not  therefore  take  any  chances  that  might 
result  in  the  election  of  a  congressman  wholly 
free  from  their  influence. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  First  District  demo- 
crats to  adopt  a  firm  and  pronounced  attitude 
against  railway  dictation  and  against  the  free 
pass  system  of  bribery.  If  they  send  to  their 
convention  men  who  are  free  of  the  railway 
taint,  men  who  will  refuse  to  forget  their  patriot- 
ism and  the  obligation  they  are  under  to  a  bribe- 
ridden  state,  they  will  deserve  to  win.  On  the 
other  hand  if  the  republicans  fail  in  their  duty 
they  will  deserve  to  lose,  and  The  Independent 
feels  safe,  when  it  considers  the  notable  revolu- 
tion in  sentiment  among  men  of  all  parties,  in 
predicting  that  partisanship  will  be  lost  sight 
of  on  election  day  and  the  candidate  who  stands 
for  the  wishes  of  the  people  as  against  the 
wishes  of  the  railways,  who  desires  to  become  the 
First  Di  trict's  representative  in  congress  that 
he  m.'.v  uphold  the  hand  of  the  President  in 
the  fight  for  railway  regulation,  will  triumph 
nt  the  pools  and  will  gain  a  victory  as  glorious 


25Jf        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

to  Nebraska  as  the  victory  against  Standard  Oil 
was  glorious  to  the  people  of  Kansas. 

The  democrats  must  make  their  position 
clear  immediately  so  that  there  may  be  no  mis- 
understanding at  the  primaries.  It  will  be  too 
late  when  the  convention  is  called  to  order  to 
eliminate  the  men  who  ride  on  passes.  Those 
men  may  be  in  control  or  may  hold  the  bal- 
ance of  power  between  contending  candidates 
when  the  convention  meets.  From  now  until 
the  convention,  therefore,  every  avenue  by  which 
railway  representatives  or  bribed  pass  holders 
may  slip  into  the  convention  should  be  guarded 
and  every  democrat  in  the  First  District  should 
constitute  himself  a  sentinel  to  bar  the  way 
of  those  who  seek  to  betray  the  people. 


PASS  HOLDERS  DODGING  TO  DECEIVE  PUBLIC. 
In  their  convention  held  at  Falls  City  last 
week  to  nominate  a  congressman  to  fill  the 
unexpired  term  made  vacant  by  the  election  of 
Mr.  Eurkett  to  the  senate,  the  republicans  passed 
the  following  resolution: 

"We  favor  legislation  that  will  prohibit  the 
giving  of  free  transportation  to  all  public  offi- 
cials and  that  will  prohibit  officials  receiving 
and  using  the  same,  believing  that  the  pass  sy?- 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.        255 

tern  is  an  evil,  a  burden  on  the  transportation 
companies  and  against  public  interest." 

The  Independent  is  always  glad  when  any 
headway  is  made  along  right  lines.  There  is 
some  headway  made  in  the  passage  of  this  reso- 
lution by  the  republican  convention,  but  not  as 
much  as  the  face  of  the  record  would  indicate. 
Why  did  the  convention  pass  that  resolution  ? 
Did  it  do  so  because  it  honestly  believed  what 
it  said,  or  because  it  was  whipped  into  it  by 
public  sentiment?  Is  that  resolution  an  honest 
expression  by  honest  men  working  only  for  the 
public  good,  or  is  it  an  expression  by  a  con- 
vention of  politicians  playing  the  game  of  poli- 
tics ?  These  are  questions  on  which  every  voter 
wishes  to  be  enlightened. 

The  Independent  believes  that  there  were 
delegates  in  that  convention  who  went  to  the 
convention  without  passes,  and  who  honestly  and 
conscientiously  are  opposed  to  the  free  pass  evil, 
lint  a  majority  of  the  delegates  had  railroad 
passes  in  their  pockets  when  the  resolution  was 
introduced,  and  when  it  was  passed.  These 
delegates  voted  for  the  resolution,  not  that  they 
favored  it,  but  because  they  knew  that  the  public 
favored  it,  and  because  they  thought  it  was 
good  politics. 

No  class  of  men  in  politics  is  more  clan- 


256         The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

gerous  to  society  than  this  class.     It  is  right 

and  proper  that  delegates  to  conventions  should 

respond  to  public  sentiment,  but  this  response 

must  be  sincere  and  with  an  intention  to  carry 

out  the  people's  will.      xTo   one,   however,   can 

believe   that   delegates   are   sincere  when  their 

own  individual  conduct  is  out  of  harmony  with 

public  sentiment.     If  all  pass  holders,  like  men, 

would  stand  up  and  try  to  defend  the  free  pass, 

the  pass  evil  would  soon  be  done  away  with. 

This,    however,    they   will    not    do.      The   real 

trouble  ahead  for  the  people  is  to  know  who 

are  sincerely  opposed  to  the  pass  evil,  and  who 

are  simply  playing  the  game  of  politics.     The 

Independent  will  point  out  a  way  by  which  every 

voter  can  tell,  without  fail,  to  which  class  any 

delegate   to   any   convention  belongs,   and   also 

t:>  which  class  every  candidate  belongs.     Find 

out  whether  he  has  a  pass  in  his  pocket.     Find 

out  whether  in  private  life  he  has  been  riding 

free,  or  whether  he  has  been  paying  his  fare. 

You  can  tell  by  this  sign  only.     It  is  a  sure 

sign,  however,  in  every  case. 

What  a  spectacle  it  is  to  see  a  convention  of 
free  pass  holders  condemning  free  passes  and 
favoring  a  law  to  abolish  them !  AVhat  a  spec- 
tacle it  is  to  see  a  convention  of  delegates  de- 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.        251 

manding  a  law  to  make  pass  giving  and  pass 
receiving  a  misdemeanor,  while  most  of  them 
have  the  evidence  of  the  misdemeanor  in  their 
pockets !  The  Independent  insists  that  no  ef- 
fective anti-pass  legislation  can  ever  be  obtained, 
and  that  the  railways  in  this  state,  or,  for  that 
matter,  in  the  entire  country,  can  never  be  con- 
trolled until  all  men  with  free  passes  are  ex- 
cluded from  nominating  conventions. 

But  the  resolution  passed  by  this  congres- 
sional convention  does  not  go  far  enough.  Why 
limit  to  public  officials  the  prohibition  of  free 
passes.  It  is  apparent  that  the  convention  did 
not  grasp  the  real  evil  of  free  passes.  The 
current  of  the  free  pass  evil  ruijp  much  deeper 
than  the  meaning  of  that  resolution. 

In  the  first  place  the  free  pass  is  wrong,  and 
should  be  prohibited  by  law  because  it  bribes. 
The  Free  Pass  System  is  a  colossal  bribe.  The 
system  has  bribed  mayors,  city  councils,  legis- 
latures, judges,  state  officers,  and  thereby  the 
people  have  been  betrayed,  sold  out  and  robbed 
of  millions  of  dollars.  The  wring  done  by  the 
boodlcrs  of  St.  Louis  is  in  ificant  compnred 
to  the  wrong  done  by  The  Free  Pass  >c 
in  nearly  every  state  in  the  Uni    l. 

But  the  evil  does  net  end  villi  the 


258        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

The  free  pass  is  wrong,  for  another  reason. 
It  is  wrong  because  it  unjustly  discriminates. 
Both  public  officials  and  private  citizens  must 
cease  to  ride  on  passes.  Why  should  one  man 
pay  to  ride  on  the  trains  and  his  neighbors 
ride  free  ?  Why  should  the  rich  man  ride  free 
and  the  poor  man  pay  ?  The  state  gives  the 
railways  the  right  to  transact  business  in  the 
state.  The  railways  are  public  highways.  The 
state  cannot  permit  any  discrimination  between 
its  citizens.  It  is  wrong  to  permit  freight  dis- 
crimination. It  is  even  a  greater  wrong  to 
permit  passenger  discrimination.  Why  did  not 
the  republicans  in  their  congressional  conven- 
tion pass  a  resolution  that  meant  something  ? 
We  can  find  the  answer  in  the  convention  it- 
self. There  were  too  many  pass-holding  dele- 
gates in  that  convention.  Let  a  movement  be 
inaugurated  at  once  that  wil  shut  out  for  all 
time  from  all  conventions  all  pass-holding  dele- 
gates. 


POWER  OF   POPULAR  ANTAGONISM. 
The  popular  victories  achieved  in  Wiscon- 
sin, Kansas  and  Missouri,  in  Chicago  and  Phila- 
delphia,  are  teaching  a  golden   lesson.      They 
show  that  wherever  public  sentiment  has  been 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.        259 

aroused  against  railway  or  corporation  tyranny 
the  people  have  made  substantial  progress  in 
their  contests  to  free  themselves  from  extortion 
and  injustice. 

It  is  a  lesson  that  will  inspire  the  people 
with  hope.  It  will  convince  them  that  the  rail- 
ways and  corporations  are  not  invulnerable, 
that  their  grip  on  legislative  bodies  can  be 
loosened,  and  that  their  most  skilfully  con- 
trived plans  can  be  latterly  defeated.  There  are 
those  who  fear  the  trusts  have  grown  too  power- 
ful to  be  restrained  and  controlled,  and  this 
timidity  leads  them  to  believe  that  all  antagon- 
ism by  the  people  is  doomed  to  failure.  Were 
the  people  generally  to  adopt  such  a  view  the 
trusts  would  indeed  become  invlunerable,  but 
indifference  is  everywhere  giving  way  to  a  spirit 
of  resolute  opposition.  Inspired  by  the  recent 
success  of  popular  movements  against  corpora- 
tion rule  the  lukewarm  and  pessimistic  have 
joined  the  ranks  of  reform  and  will  hereafter 
fight  its  battle  with  confidence  and  determina- 
tion. 

In  staid,  sleepy  and  apathetic  Philadelphia, 
where  bossism  and  ring  rule  had  so  long  carried 
out  the  will  of  the  corporations,  the  people  were 
suddenly  aroused  by  a  scandalous  "gas  steal." 


260        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

The  resoluteness,  nay  actual  ferocity,  with 
which  the  citizens  began  their  fight  on  the 
United  Gas  Improvement  company,  was  a  rev- 
elation to  the  country.  Some  were  inclined  to 
think  that  the  Quakers  had  taken  their  stand 
too  late.  Others  held  that  at  best  the  fight 
would  be  tedious  and  discouraging.  Even  the 
citizens  themselves  shared  in  this  latter  belief. 
They  beheld  mighty  powers  of  greed  and  cor' 
ruption  arrayed  against  them.  The  committee 
of  seventy  was  forced  to  seek  legal  help  in  New 
York  because  all  the  leading  lawyers  of  Phila- 
delphia: had  been  retained  by  interests  allied 
with  the  United  Gas  Improvement  company. 
Even  when  Mayor  Weaver  rid  himself  of  two 
officials  who  openly  sided  with  the  "gang,"  the 
people  did  not  dream  that  the  United  Gas  Im- 
provement company  could  be  frightened  from 
its  course.  When  the  members  of  the  common 
and  select  councils  began  to  desert  the  gang  and 
declare  against  the  lease  the  citizens  did  not  ex- 
pect an  easy  triumph,  but  suddenly  the  gas  com- 
pany retired  from  the  field  in  a  panic.  Its  presi- 
dent announced  that  even  were  the  ordinance 
granting  the  lease  to  be  passed  over  the  mayor's 
veto  the  company  would  not  enter  into  the  con- 
tract. 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.        231 


At  first  the  people  were  a  Lit  mystified. 
They  could  not  understand  clearly  why  the 
United  Gas  Improvement  company  had  been 
seized  with  such  a  sudden  fright.  In  a  few 
days,  however,  the  reasons  back  of  the  move 
came  to  light.  The  United  Gas  Improvement 
company  holds  franchises  in  forty  cities.  On 
an  average  four  of  these  leases  expire  every  year 
and  the  company  almost  invariably  seeks  re- 
newals of  its  contracts.  The  gas  officials  dis- 
covered that  the  Philadelphia  agitation  was  ex- 
tending to  the  other  cities  in  which  they  trans- 
acted business  and  that  there  was  great  danger 
that  they  would  be  unable  to  obtain  extensions 
of  their  franchises.  They  realized  that  even 
though  they  gained  the  franchise  they  sought 
in  Philadelphia  it  would  not  compensate  them 
for  the  franchises  they  would  lose  elsewhere. 
Then  they  hauled  down  the  black  flag  of  piracy 
and  surrendered. 

The  Philadelphia  episode  is  a  lesson  which 
the  people  of  this  country  should  take  to  heart. 
It  discloses  the  fact  that  the  great  corporations 
are  vlunerable  on  the  side  of  their  self-interest. 
As  long  as  they  can  deceive  a  majority  of  the 
people  all  is  well  with  them,  but  once  they 
find  a  united  public  sentiment  arrayed  in  op- 


262        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

position  to  their  designs  they  begin  to  under- 
stand that  the  power  which  created  them  can 
destroy  them. 


PLANS  TO  DESTROY  THE  LOBBY. 

The  extensive  power  wielded  by  railways 
and  corporations  through  paid  lobbyists  to  in- 
fluence legislation  has  aroused  much  interest  in 
the  remedies  which  have  been  suggested  for  the 
evil.  In  Wisconsin  Governor  La  Follette  is 
anxious  to  secure  a  law  that  will  prohibit  lobby- 
ists from  working  in  secret  and  requiring  them 
to  state  their  views  at  open  hearings  before 
legislative  committees.  In  Missouri  Governor 
Folk  treated  the  lobbyists  much  as  a  police 
judge  sometimes  treats  a  tramp  whom  he  orders 
out  of  town  because  he  has  made  himself  a  pub- 
lic nuisance.  In  Ohio  Governor  Herrick,  when 
accepting  a  re-nomination  at  the  hands  of  the 
republican  convention,  said: 

"In  Ohio  today,  and  in  all  the  states,  there 
is  a  growing  evil  which  gravely  threatens  to 
destroy  the  freedom  of  action  which  is  the  most 
important  concern  of  the  representatives  of  the 
people  in  the  legislative  department  of  the  gov- 
ernment. I  refer  to  the  professional  lobby. 
The  people  of  Ohio  in  the  making  of  their  laws 
are'  entitled  to  the  best  judgment  of  all  their 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.        263 


representatives  in  the  general  assembly  as  well 
as  that  of  their  chief  executive  and  they  are 
entitled  to  this  judgment  free  and  untrammled 
by  any  opportunities  from  special  interests. 
I  care  not  what  the  purpose  of  the  lobbyists 
may  be  nor  whether  their  object  be  good  or 
bad  it  is  subversive  of  the  basic  principles  upon 
which  American  institutions  are  founded  to 
permit  a  few  men  to  dictate  or  control  legisla- 
tion and  to  put  their  judgment  as  to  what  is 
best  for  the  people  against  that  of  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  people  elected  for  the  sole  pur- 
pose of  registering  their  will." 

If  the  present  form  of  representative  govern- 
ment is  to  remain  unchanged  it  will  be  neces- 
sary either  to  keep  the  lobbyists  away  from  the 
legislators  or  the  legislators  away  from  the 
lobbyists.  Governor  La  Follette's  law  is  de- 
signed to  hold  the  lobbyists  at  a  respectful  dis- 
tance. But  it  might  be  even  more  productive 
of  good  results  to  shut  up  the  legislators  as 
we  now  isolate  grand  juries. 

The  necessity  for  such  disciplinary  laws, 
however,  indicates  the  weaknesses  that  exist  in 
out  present  form  of  representative  government. 
The  power  of  making  laws  is  transferred  from 
the  people  to  a  selected  few.  The  attention  of  the 
corporation  lobby  is  constantly  devoted  to  in- 


£6-4        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

fluencing  these  men.  The  lobby  is  alert,  watch- 
ful and  untiring.  Its  organization  is  most  ef- 
fective and  the  lobbyists  are  paid  not  to  be  in- 
different On  the  other  hand  the  public  is 
divided.  Many  are  indifferent  because  their 
information,  obtained  through  the  daily  press, 
is  inadequate.  And  even  when  the  people  un- 
derstand clearly  what  is  doing  at  their  state 
capitols  they  realize  that  their  only  weapon  of 
defense  is  the  right  of  petition. 

The  most  certain  method  of  overcoming 
these  defects  would  be  the  application  of  the 
initiative  and  referendum.  The  state  of  Ore- 
gon has  applied  the  system  with  excellent  re- 
sults. A  petition  of  five  per  cent  of  the  voters 
is  sufficient  to  force  a  popular  referendum  upon 
any  act  of  the  legislature.  A  petition  of  eight 
per  cent  is  sufficient  to  propose  a  new  measure 
and  if  a  majority  of  the  people  vote  for  it,  the 
measure  becomes  a  law. 

The  people  of  Oregon  exercise  the  right  to 
veto  the  acts  of  their  representatives  and,  also, 
to  pass  laws  independently  of  their  representa- 
tives. If  such  a  check  were  applied  in  all  the 
states  the  corporations  would  find  lobbies  of 
little  or  no  use.  The  most  serious  defects  of 
popular  government   would   disappear,   and   i^ 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.        265 

a  democratic  form  of  government  is  to  be  pre- 
served these  defects  must  be  removed. 


WHAT  THE    RAILWAYS  ARE    PLOTTING. 

The  senate  committee  on  interstate  com- 
merce, in  its  several  weeks  of  pretended  inves- 
tigation, brought  forth  and  flourished  before  the 
country  much  idle  talk  from  railroad  officials 
and  favored  shippers  in  reference  to  rate  regu- 
lation. This  talk  of  rate  regulation  is  brought 
out  partly  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  any 
sort  of  real  rate  regulation  by  congress,  and 
partly  to  attract  and  hold  the  attention  of  the 
people  to  the  one  question  of  regulation,  so  that 
they  will  lose  sight  of  the  other  part,  and  the 
vastly  more  important  part  of  the  rate  question 
— rate  reduction. 

The  people  want  regulation  of  interstate 
rates,  to  be  sure;  they  want  secret  rebates 
and  all  forms  of  discrimination  abolished,  but 
more  than  anything  else  the  freight-paying  pub- 
lic wants  rate  reduction.  Nebraska  people,  for 
example,  according  to  the  net  profit  reports  of 
the  Nebraska  and  Iowa  railroads,  are  paying 
over  $7,000,000  more  annually  for  their  rail- 
road service  than  the  same  number  of  people 
with  the  same  railroad  mileage  would  pay  in 


£66        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

Iowa.  This  $7,000,000  annual  extortion  is  the 
burden  that  is  pressing  most  heavily  upon  Ne- 
braska people.  To  remove  discrimination  mere- 
ly adjusts  the  difference  between  shippers  and 
shipping  points.  It  removes  the  injustice  as 
between  shippers,  but  does  not  remove  the 
greater  injustice  which  extortion  puts  upon  the 
whole  public.  Students  of  the  rate  question 
must  bear  in  mind  that  rate  regulation  is  one 
thing,  and  rate  reduction  another  of  much  more 
importance.  To  regulate  rates  as  between  ship- 
pers, so  that  each  will  have  the  same  equal 
chance  in  business  competition,  is  rendering 
justice  between  the  shippers,  but  is  no  relief 
whatever  to  the  freight-robbed  public  which 
must  bear  the  whole  burden  of  rate  extortion 
after  the  discrimination  has  been  adjusted  be- 
tween the  shippers.  The  shippers  want  regu- 
lation.    The  public  wants  reduction. 

The  whole  trend  of  discussion  which  the 
senate  committee  has  brought  out  has  been  to 
the  effect  that  if  the  secret  rebates  between 
shippers  and  the  discrimination  between  ship- 
ping points  could  be  abolished,  the  whole  rate 
question  would  be  solved.  Behind  all  this  ma- 
nipulation of  the  rate  question  the  railroad 
hand  is  plainly  visible.     This  is  the  view  of  th' 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.        £67 

case  which  the  railroad  managers  are  trying 
to  impress  upon  the  public  mind.  If  they  can 
persuade  the  public  to  see  the  railroad  ques- 
tion in  that  light  they  can  easily  arrange  with 
congress  for  a  law  that  will  appear  to  abolish 
discriminations  between  the  shippers  but  the 
public  will  continue  to  bear  its  burden  of  ex- 
tortion, which  in  Nebraska  amounts  to  over  $7 
per  capita  annually. 

Not  regulation  alone,  but  regulation  and 
reduction,  is  the  battle  cry  that  must  be  shouted 
from  neighbor  to  neighbor,  from  twn  to  town, 
and  from  state  to  state. 


PERIL    IN    PASS,    NOT    IN    PARTY. 

The  Lincoln  State  Journal  a  few  days  ago 
found  much  fault  with  The  Independent's  criti- 
cism of  the  First  ISTebraska  District  republican 
convention's  anti-pass  resolution.  The  Journal 
said: 

"If  there  is  one  thing  above  another  the 
republican  party  prides  itself  upon,  it  is  loyalty 
t:>  public  sentiment.  Politicians  are  not  moulders 
of  public  sentiment.  'What  do  you  want  V  is 
thd  question  asked  of  their  constituents,  and 
when  the  people  have  spoken  with  considerable 
unanimity  the  politicians  are  willing  and  anx 


£68        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


ious  to  obey.  It  doesn't  sound  well  for  The 
Independent  to  impugn  the  motives  of  the  con- 
vention as  a  whole,  because  they  may  have  been 
a  few  sordid  ones  in  the  company." 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  discuss  any  pub- 
lic question  but  that  some  one  wants  to  inject 
into  it  partisan  politics  and  partisan  bias  and 
prejudice.  "When  the  editor  of  The  Independ- 
ent wrote  his  criticism  of  that  anti-pass  reso- 
lution he  never  thought  of  the  republican  party 
or  any  other  political  party.  He  had  his  mind 
upon  the  pass  evil,  and  was  simply  pointing  out 
where  the  resolution  did  not  strike  at  the  heart 
of  the  evil;  that  it  was  the  product  of  a  con- 
vention of  pass  holders,  and  that  the  right  kind 
of  a  resolution  upon  that  question  could  not 
come,  and  never  would  come,  from  that  kind 
of  a  convention ;  that  the  only  way  to  get  relief 
for  the  people  from  railroad  rule  and  railroad 
extortion  was  to  leave  all  pass  holders  at  home 
and  send  to  conventions  only  delegates  free 
from  railroad  influence. 

The  Independent  would  have  made  the  same 
criticism  of  that  resolution  if  a  populist  or  a 
democratic  convention  had  passed  it.  It  is 
the  resolution  The  Independent  finds  fault  with. 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.        269 

Ix  is  the  pass  evil  The  Independent  wants  to 
see  destroyed.  For  thirty  years  this  state  has 
been  in  the  grip  of  railroads  and  no  political 
party  has  been  loyal  enough  to  the  people  to 
wrest  from  them  control  of  the  state  govern- 
ment. Year  after  year  tax  shirking  and  freight 
and  passenger  extortion  have  gone  on.  The 
people  have  been  robbed  of  millions,  and  during 
all  that  time  the  politicians  of  all  political 
parties  have  been  doing  just  what  the  First 
District  Convention  did — making  the  people 
believe  that  the  politicians  had  responded  to 
public  sentiment,  when,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
they  had  done  nothing  of  the  kind. 

The  question  whether  the  people  of  this 
state  shall  continue  to  be  robbed  and  governed 
by  railroad  tools  has  become  an  issue  bigger 
than  any  political  party.  The  time  has  come 
when  the  people  refuse  longer  to  be  tricked  by 
the  politicians.  The  people  believe  that  pass 
holders  are  not  their  representatives,  but  the 
representatives  of  the  railroads,  and  that  under 
no  circumstances  will  pass  holders  ever  faith- 
fully respond  to  the  people's  will.  The  people 
are  not  partisan  when  they  believe  this.  A 
democratic  or  populist  pass-holding  convention 
is  just  as  bad  as  a  republican  pass-holding  con- 
vention.     In  every  convention  there  are  dele- 


270        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

gates  who  are  not  railroad  tools  and  who  honest- 
ly try  to  act  for  the  welfare  of  the  people.  But 
the  trouble  is  that  in  Nebraska,  where  the  rail- 
roads are  absolutely  in  control,  this  class  of 
delegates  is  always  in  the  minority,  and  there- 
fore helpless  to  accomplish  anything. 

There  were  delegates  in  the  Falls  City  re- 
publican congressional  convention  who  went  to 
that  convention  without  passes,  and  who  were 
not  railroad  men,  but  they  were  in  the  minority. 
The  resolution  passed  therefore  is  a  railroad 
resolution — not  the  resolution  of  the  people  of 
this  congressional  district.  It  is  a  resolution 
that  doesn't  mean  anything,  and  was  passed  by 
a  convention  dominated  by  the  railroads  because 
it  was  good  politics  to  pass  some  kind  of  an 
anti-pass  resolution.  The  Independent  says 
this,  not  because  it  likes  to  say  so,  or  because 
it  was  a  republican  convention  that  passed  the 
resolution,  but  because  these  things  are  true. 
The  people  are  tired  of  mere  lip-service,  such 
as  always  can  be  heard  in  party  conventions. 
What  the  people  demand  from  their  delegates 
is  an"  honest  effort  to  bring  about  relief  from 
railroad  domination  in  this  state.  So  that  there 
Lnay  be  no  misunderstanding  about  this  reso- 
lution, it  is  here  reproduced  again: 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         271 

"Resolved,  that  we  favor  legislation  that 
will  prohibit  the  giving  of  free  transportation 
to  all  public  officials,  and  that  will  prohibit 
officials  from  receiving  and  using  the  same,  be- 
lieving that  The  Pass  System  is  an  evil,  a 
burden  upon  the  transportation  companies  and 
against  public  interest." 

The  Independent  wishes  to  propound  three 
questions  to  the  State  Journal: 

First — Is  the  Journal  in  favor  of  prohibit- 
ing free  transportation  to  public  officials  only, 
or  does  it  want  the  entire  Free  Pass  System 
destroyed  ? 

Second— The  convention  at  Palls  City  com- 
mended the  President  for  his  stand  against 
freight  discrimination.  Is  the  Journal  opposed 
to  freight  discrimination,  but  in  favor  of  pas- 
senger discrimination  ?  If  the  Journal  is  also 
opposed  to  passenger  discrimination  must  it 
not  join  The  Independent  in  criticising  that 
resolution  and  insisting  that  it  include  not  only 
public  officials,  but  that  the  entire  system  be 
destroyed  ? 

Third — The  Journal  says  the  republican 
party  always  responds  to  public  sentiment.  The 
Independent  regrets  very  much  that  any  partisan 
question  has  been  raised  in  connection  with  the 
discussion  of  this  question.     But  inasmuch  as 


272        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

the  question  has  been  raised,  The  Independent 
wishes  to  remind  the  Journal  that  the  repub- 
lican party  was  in  control  of  the  legislature 
during  its  recent  session.  It  had  an  overwhelm- 
ing majority  in  both  houses  of  the  legislature. 
The  editor  of  this  paper  drew  up  an  anti-pass 
bill  and  had  a  republican  introduce  it  in  the 
house.  It  met  an  ignominious  defeat.  Several 
other  anti-pass  bills  were  drawn  and  introduced 
by  republican  members,  but  all  met  instant 
death. 

Bills  of  various  kinds  to  regulate  and  con- 
trol railroads  came  before  that  legislature,  but 
the  railroad  lobbyists  were  in  control  and  every 
one  of  these  bills  was  defeated.  From  over 
the  entire  state  came  a  vigorous  demand  for 
legislation  that  would  give  relief  to  the  people, 
but  the  legislature  not  only  failed  to  respond, 
but  spurned  with  contempt  the  people's  will 
and  the  people's  wishes. 

The  Independent  will  say  to  the  credit  of 
the  Journal  that  during  that  entire  session  it 
was  with  the  people  in  demanding  legislation 
along  these  lines,  but  oven  the  Journal's  best 
efforts  could  not  elicit  any  response  from  that 
railroad-controlled  legislature.  The  people  are 
coming  to  believe  that  no  convention  of  pass 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.        £7-3 

holders,  no  matter  what  the  party  name  may- 
be, will  ever  do  the  people's  will.  A  conven- 
tion of  pass  holders  always  responds  to  rail- 
road will. 

The  Independent  challenges  the  Journal  to 
answer  any  one  of  the  foregoing  questions. 
Upon  all  three  of  these  questions  will  not  the 
Journal  be  compelled  to  agree  with  The  Inde- 
pendent, and  therefore  join  The  Independent 
ia  voicing  a  criticism  of  the  anti-pass  resolu- 
tion rather  than  criticise  The  Independent  for 
pointing  out  the  real  defects  of  that  resolution  ? 

The  Journal  has  done  much  good  work  re- 
cently in  helping  to  arouse  the  public  upon  the 
railroad  question.  The  Independent  wishes  to 
compliment  the  Journal  upon  its  manly  stand 
upon  these  important  questions,  and  this  article 
is  not  written  in  any  spirit  of  criticism,  but 
only  with  a  desire  to  point  out  the  real  evil 
in  connection  with  the  giving  of  free  passes. 

The  Independent  believes  in  government 
ownership  of  railroads.  Railroad  domination 
and  freight  and  passenger  discrimination  and 
extortion  will  not  entirely  cease  as  long  as 
the  railroads  are  in  private  hands.  The  people 
must  own  the  railroads,  but  The  Independent 
believes  that  until  the  people   can   own  these 


27 Jf        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


public  highways  that  they  must  regulate  and 
control  them.  As  long  as  The  Free  Pass  Brib- 
ery System  remains  it  is  utterly  impossible  for 
the  people  to  get  hold  of  the  machinery  of  their 
government.  But  the  whole  system  must  be 
destroyed  not  a  part  of  it  only.  When  once 
the  pass  evil  is  struck  down  and  we  can  get 
representatives  in  all  branches  of  government 
who  are  free  from  railroad  influence,  we  can 
then  better  control  the  railroads,  and  we  will 
then  make  more  rapid  headway  towards  govern- 
ment ownership.  v 


TOO  STRENUOUS  AT  WHITEWASHING. 

"When  history  impartially  records  the  acts 
of  President  Roosevelt's  administration  it  will 
be  forced  to  mix  some  black  coloring  with  the 
whitewash  the  chief  executive  has  applied  to 
the  officials  of  the  Santa  Fe  railway  and  the 
Colorado  Fuel  &  Iron  company,  and  more  par- 
ticularly to  Paul  Morton,  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 
In  the  process  of  clearing  Paul  Morton  the 
President  found  it  necessary  to  prevent  any 
prosecution  that  would  involve  the  officials  of 
either  company. 

Messrs.  Judson  and  Harmon,  the  special  at- 
torneys employed   to   investigate  the  case,   re- 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.        275 

ported  that  without  question  rebates  had  been 
granted  in  violation  of  law  and  recommended 
such  proceedings  as  would  make  possible  the 
taking  of  testimony  to  fix  the  guilt.  The  reply 
of  the  Attorney  General  to  their  suggestion  is 
absurd.  He  opposes  the  bringing  of  contempt 
proceedings  because  the  evidence  contains  noth- 
ing to  connect  any  officer  of  the  Santa  Pe  with 
the  violation  of  law.  Inasmuch  as  Messrs.  Jud- 
son  and  Harmon  proposed  proceedings  that 
would  have  developed  such  evidence,  the  At- 
torney General's  refusal  to  comply  with  the  re- 
quest of  the  special  counsel  must  be  set  down 
to  bias.  Moreover,  the  Attorney  General's  reply 
contains  a  ridiculous  implication.  If  there  was 
no  doubt  that  the  law  had  been  violated,  a  fact 
admitted  by  the  Attorney  General,  then  there 
was  do  doubt  that  some  person  or  persons  vio- 
lated the  law.  And  yet  his  reply  seems  to  in- 
dicate that  although  the  law  was  violated  there 
was  no  evidence  to  prove  anybody  responsible 
and  that  therefore  proceedings  to  secure  such 
evidence  was  unnecessary. 

The  President  himself  protests  too  much. 
He  gives  Paul  Morton  an  honorable  discharge 
in  the  most  fulsome  terms  and  yet  Paul  Morton 
admitted  that  the  Santa  Pe  under  his  regim< 


216        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


had  granted  rebates  to  the  Colorado  Fuel  &  Iron 
company.  In  his  letter  to  the  retiring  Secre- 
tary of  the  ISTavy  the  President  takes  the  same 
position  as  Attorney  General  Moody.  He  de- 
clares that  "proceedings  against  individual  of- 
ficers/' in  other  cases,  "must  depend  in  each 
instance  on  whether  testimony  is  obtained  show- 
ing that  such  individual  officer  has  either  by 
act  of  connivance  been  personally  guilty  in  the 
matter."  This  sounds  well,  but  if  in  each  in- 
stance the  Attorney  General  is  to  block  pro- 
ceedings that  will  secure  adequate  testimony 
against  the  individual  official,  all  prosecutions 
against  the  railways  will  be  futile. 

_>The  President  followed  a  similar  course  in 
dealing  with  the  Bowen-Loomis  controversy. 
Bowen  was  expelled  from  the  diplomatic  ser- 
vice because  in  the  President's  opinion  he  had 
spied  on  his  superior  officer  and  had  made 
charges  he  could  not  sustain.  But  even  the 
President  is  forced  to  admit  that  Loomis  acted 
''indiscreetly"  when  he  became  financially  in- 
terested in  the  business  of  the  asphalt  trust. 
Inasmuch, as  the  dispute  between  the  asphalt 
trust  and  Venezuela  was  the  most  important 
business  which  our  representative  in  that  coun- 
try was  called  upon  to  deal  with  the  public  will 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.        #77 

regard  the  acts  of  Secretary  Loomis  as  worse 
than  mere  indiscretion  and  will  agree  that  the 
President  would  have  done  well  to  discipline 
both  Bowen  and  Loomis. 


FIGHT  ON   PASSES   MAKES  PROGRESS. 

Agitation  against  the  free  pass  is  having  its 
effect.  Those  who  have  opposed  the  giving  and 
receiving  of  free  transportation  cannot  but  be 
cheered  by  the  progress  which  has  been  made 
toward  the  absolute  extinction  of  the  practice. 

Governor  Hanly  of  Indiana  has  announced 
that  he  intends  to  make  the  acceptance  of 
passes  so  distasteful  that  an  honest  man  will 
not  wish  to  accept  one  and  a  dishonest  man  will 
not  dare.  It  is  only  a  few  weeks  ago  tha+  the 
Ohio  democrats  condemned  the  practice,  and 
Governor  Herrick,  who  was  renominated  by 
!he  republicans  of  that  state,  declared  that  the 
bribery  of  officials  by  means  of  the  free  pass 
must  cease.  President  Roosevelt  gave  the 
movement  greal  momentum  when  he  decided 
t  i  decline  all  offer3  of  free  transportation. 

Charles  J.  Bonaparte  a  few  days  after  his 
appointment  as  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  an- 
nounced that  by  reason  of  the  public  position 
he  occupied  he  felt  unable  to  avail  himself  of 


878        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

free  passes.  He  "declined  the  courtesy  with 
thanks,"  indicating  either  that  he  misunder- 
stood the  significance  of  the  pass  given  to  a 
public  official  or  that  he  wished  to  avoid  the 
harsh  but  truth-telling  word  "bribe." 

It  is  probable  the  Secretary  had  not  con- 
sidered the  subject  deeply,  but  he  saw  that  the 
only  honorable  course  open  to  a  member  of  the 
President's  cabinet  was  to  follow  the  example 
of  his  chief.  If  the  pass  were  a  mere  courtesy 
there  would  be  no  sense  in  refusing  to  accept 
it  "by  reason  of  public  office."  It  is  because 
the  pass  is  a  bribe  th-at  the  public  official  is 
morally  bound  to  reject  it. 

While  there  has  been  substantial  progress 
against  the  system  of  free  transportation,  the 
system  will  never  be  destroyed  until  public  sen- 
timent condemns  not  only  the  pass  given  to  the 
public  official,  but  the  pass  given  to  the  private 
citizen.  When  a  majority  of  the  people  appre- 
cate  the  fact  that  the  free  pass  gives  the  pri- 
vate citizen  an  unfair  advantage  over  his  neigh- 
bor, that  it  takes  the  money  out  of  one  man's 
pocket  and  puts  it  in  another  man's  pocket 
v.ithout  any  compensation,  that  it  taxes  one 
i  of  passengers  for  the  benefit  of  anothei 

class  of  passengers,  and  that  it  makes  passenger 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.        219 

rates  correspondingly  higher  for  the  class  that 
does  not  receive  free  transportation  favors,  the 
system  will  be  dealt  its  death  blow.  Until  that 
time  comes  the  agitation  against  the  pass  as  a 
bribe  to  public  officials,  while  it  will  have  an 
excellent  effect  in  leading  up  to  the  conclusion 
which  is  so  much  to  be  desired,  will  not  be  de- 
cisive. The  victory  over  The  Free  Pass  System 
can  only  be  won  when  the  people  determine  to 
make  every  form  of  pass  illegal  and  to  punish 
by  criminal  prosecutions  all  who  give  or  accept 
passes.  •      f 


POLITICS    AND    PUBLIC    OWNERSHIP. 

Secret  agreements  to  rob  the  city,  violations 
of  ordinances  by  councilmen,  contracts  awarded 
without  competitive  bids  or  to  others  than  the 
lowest  bidder,  have  been  unearthed  by  Mayor 
Weaver  and  his  reform  associates  in  Philadel- 
phia. It  has  been  shown  that  Insurance  Com- 
missioner I.  W.  Durham,  leader  of  the  repub- 
lican organization,  is  a  partner  in  the  McXichol 
firm  of  city  contractors,  and  that  James  P. 
McNichol,  now  state  senator,  was  represented 
by  his  wife  in  the  firm  while  he  was  in  the 
city  council. 

It   was    inevitable    that   the    reform   move- 


280        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

ment  in  Philadelphia  should  lead  to  the  dis- 
covery of  "wholesale  "graft."  The  citizens  of 
Philadelphia  have  known  for  years  that  their 
public  officials  and  councilmen  have  been  rob- 
bing the  city  treasury,  but  an  effort  was  re- 
quired to  start  an  investigation,  and  the  Quaker 
city  folk  were  seemingly  indisposed  until  quite 
recently  to  turn  on  the  searchlight. 

If  James  Dalrymple  of  Glasgow  could  tarry 
in  Philadelphia  for  six  months  he  would  learn 
many  things  about  private  ownership  that  would 
lead  him  to  believe  municipal  ownership  pre- 
ferable even  in  politician-ridden  American 
cities.'  He  would  discover  so  much  of  "graft" 
in  connection  with  private  ownership  that  mu- 
nicipal ownership,  even  though  it  were  mixed 
with  politics,  would  seem  to  him,  as  it  now 
seems  to  an  increasingly  large  number  of  Ameri- 
aens,  the  only  wise  solution. 

With  private  ownership  the  American  peo- 
ple expect  to  be  robbed.  They  realize  that 
their  common  councils  are  packed  with  the 
hirelings  of  public  utility  corporations.  With 
public  ownership  there  would  be  occasional 
"grafters,"  but  there  would  exist  no  private 
corporations  seeking  to  elect  subservient  council- 
men  and  public  officials.      The  moral  tone  of 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         2S1 

city  councils  would  improve  as  soou  as  the 
private  corporations  disappeared. 

It  is  true  that  the  dishonest  politician,  who 
desires  office  for  the  plunder  it  affords,  would 
still  he  in  the  field,  but  he  would  have  no  great 
financial  interests  back  of  him  to  control  pri- 
maries, corrupt  the  press  and  colonize  voters. 
Lacking  such  backers,  his  chances  of  election 
would  be  immensely  decreased.  Moreover, 
the  people  would  take  greater  interest  in  pro- 
tecting their  property  under  municipal  owner- 
ship. At  present  they  realize  that  to  constantly 
wage  war  against  private  corporations  in  the 
hope  of  obtaining  better  service  and  lower  rates 
is  futile.  But  with  public  utilities  in  their  con- 
trol they  could  easily  set  matters  straight  as 
soon  as  they  detected  corruption.  The  dis- 
honest official  could  no  longer  take  refuge  un- 
der the  sheltering  wing  of  a  private  corpora- 
tion. He  would  find  himself  dealing  almost 
single-handed  with  an  aroused  citizenry  and 
would  quickly  capitulate.  Politics  under  mu- 
nicipal ownership  would  play  an  insignificant 
part  as  compared  with  the  part  played  by  poli- 
tics under  private  ownership. 

But  in  deciding  to  establish  municipal 
ownership,  the  people  will  sooner  or  later  arm 


282        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

themselves  with  a  mighty  weapon  against  cor- 
ruption. By  the  initiative,  referendum  and 
recall  they  will  be  able  to  guard  their  interests 
more  effectively.  If  they  wish  to  introduce 
new  legislation,  to  veto  unwise  legislation  or 
get  rid  of  a  dishonest  public  servant,  they  can 
act  with  swift  and  sure  effectiveness. 


GOVERNMENT    OWNERSHIP    COMING. 

It  is  well  for  the  people  of  the  United 
States  that  they  have  declared  in  no  uncertain 
terms  for  government  regulation  of  railways. 
Government  regulation  of  a  satisfactory  char- 
acter they  will  never  obtain,  but  it  seems  cer- 
tain at  this  time  that  government  ownership 
is  to  be  established  only  after  government  regu- 
lation has  been  tried  and  found  wanting.  Not 
that  government  regulation  is  to  bring  the 
people  absolutely  no  relief.  In  the  beginning 
the  people  will  probably  feel  much  encouraged 
by  the  good  accomplished. 

When  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission 
was  instituted  it  fixed  rates  in  a  number  of 
instances  and  the  railways  acquiesced,  but  soon 
the  powers  of  the  commission  were  tested  and 
it  was  found  that  it  merely  had  the  right  to 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.        2SS 

propose  a  rate.  But  even  this  power  had  a 
corrective  effect  for  a  number  of  years  and  is 
still  not  wholly  useless. 

The  same  kind  of  evolution  will  probably 
be  observed  when  a  railway  commission  is 
given  the  power  to  fix  maximum  and  minimum 
rates.  At  first  the  rulings  of  the  commission 
will  be  obeyed.  Then  clever  methods  of  evasion 
will  be  discovered.  Some  of  these  will  be  failures 
and  others  will  succeed.  In  the  long  run,  how- 
ever, the  great  railway  trust  will  shake  off 
government  control  and  will  control  the  gov- 
ernment. In  those  days  the  power  of  money 
will  be  demonstrated  more  plainly  than  ever. 
Concentrated  wealth  will  be  wielded  with 
greater  effect  in  national  elections.  It  has 
been  possible  in  the  past  to  place  in  the  presi- 
dential chair  men  who  have  not  been  elected, 
and  it  will  be  not  impossible  in  the  future. 
The  railways  will  employ  every  plan  that  cun- 
ning can  devise  and  money  can  execute  to  con- 
trol the  rate-making  commission.  In  the  gigan- 
tic struggle  that  will  follow,  the  triumphs  will 
not  always  be  on  the  side  of  the  trusts,  but  the 
conditions  produced  will  become  insufferable 
and  government  ownership  will  be  the  result. 

It  has   been   argued   that   popular  govern- 


2SJf.         TJie  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

raent  must  be   deemed   a  failure  if  it  cannot 

control  the  corporations   it  has   created.      But 

here  the  word  control  is  evidently  used  in  the 

sense   of   regulate.      As   a   matter   of  fact   the 

pie  can  and  will  control  the  railways,  but 

this  will  be  achieved  only  by  public  ownership. 

'  nd  when  the  people  own  the  railways  the  prob- 

m  of  regulating  private  corporations  will  be 

try  simplified. 

The  evolution  which  is  now  going  on  in  the 
siness  world  will  give  possession  of  the  rail- 
«.ys  to  three  or  four  financial  interests.     At 
■  present  time  less  than  a  dozen  financial  in- 
terests  own   three-fourths   of   the   railways   in 
he    United    States.      When    the    number    has 
liminished  to  three  or  four  the  time  will  be 
ripe  for  government   ownership   and   the   task 
of  acquiring  the  roads  will  not  be  as  stupendous 
as  many  people  now  imagine.     The  statement 
that  the  government  will  be  required  to  pay 
$10,000,000,000    or    $12,000,000,000    for    the 
railways  of  the  country  is  apt  to  dismay  the 
ordinary  men.     But  when  the  government  buys 
it  will  not  pay   a  cent   for  the  water  in  the 
stocks.      Moreover,    it   will    acquire   the   roads 
gradually.     At  first  the  trunk  lines  will  be  ac- 
quired and  the  profit  made  by  the  government 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         285 

will  be  used  to  buy  the  local  and  connecting 
lines. 

While  not  abating  a  jot  in  their  demand 
for  government  regulation,  the  people  should 
realize  that  it  is  little  more  than  a  means  to 
an  end.  It  will,  no  doubt,  correct  some  abuses 
and  remove  some  discriminations.  If  regula- 
tion could  be  made  to  work  satisfactorily  gov- 
ernment ownership  would  not  be  necessary. 
But  there  is  little  faith  among  the  reform  ele- 
ment  in  this  country  that  the  nation  will  bo 
able  to  stop  short  of  government  ownership. 
The  date  at  which  government  ownership  will 
become  an  accomplished  fact  will  depend  largely 
upon  the  measure  of  success  attained  by  govern- 
ment regulation. 


PARTY  BIAS  BARS  WAY  TO  REFORM   IN  CITIES. 

"This  injection  of  paltry  politics  at  this 
time  is  unfortunate.  It  would  be  treason  to  a 
holy  cause  to  involve  it  in  partisan  politics. 
It  makes  no  difference  what  happens,  what 
parties  or  what  organizations  fall  as  the  result 
of  their  participation  in  municipal  wrongs  and 
crimes  of  the  past.     Let  them  fall. 

' 'They  must  fall  and  be  dethroned  before 
the  work  in  hand  can  be  completed  impartially 
and  honestly  and  the  affairs  of  the  people  placed 


il&Q        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

on  a  firm  and  secure  foundation  for  the  future. 
I  will  consider  no  politics  until  this  work  is 
done.  This  is  not  a  contest  over  a  sheriff  and 
coroner  and  I  shall  not  permit  it  to  be  reduced 
to  such  a  lame  and  impotent  conclusion  if  I 
can  help  it.  Therefore,  I  speak  now  and  thus 
strongly  in  order  that  the  true  friends  of  mu- 
nicipal regeneration  and  honest  government  may 
be  on  their  guard  against  such  subtle  or  mis- 
leading efforts  as  would  divert  the  issue,  be- 
tray the  cause  and  possibly  save  for  further 
evil  the  parent  source  of  'all  our  woes.'  " 

Thus  spoke  Mayor  Weaver  of  Philadelphia 
Inst  week  to  the  politicians  of  that  city.  This 
reform  mayor  was  prompted  to  give  expression 
to  these  ringing  words  because  twenty-one  poli- 
ticians of  that  city  addressed  a  letter  to  Sheriff 
Miles,  chairman  of  the  Republican  City  Com- 
mittee, urging  the  committee  to  reform  the 
republican  party. 

For  years  the  corporations,  through  the  poli- 
ticians, have  been  controlling  the  government 
in  that  historic  city.  In  Philadelphia,  as  well 
as  in  many  other  cities  of  the  country,  there 
has  been  a  conspiracy  between  the  corporations 
and  the  politicians  to  defeat  popular  govern- 
ment. It  succeeded  there.  The  people  had 
absolutely   nothing   to    say    about   the   govern- 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.        281 

ment  of  the  city.  The  corporations  were  run- 
ning it.  The  people  cried  for  relief,  but  in 
vain.     Their  appeals  fell  upon  deaf  ears. 

Most  of  the  officials  in  control  of  the  city 
government  were  traitors  to  the  people.  The 
name  of  Benedict  Arnold  has  been  written 
down  in  history  as  a  traitor  to  his  country,  and 
justly  so,  but  Benedict  Arnold  was  no  more 
guilty  of  treason  to  his  country  than  the  present 
day  candidate  or  public  official  who  pretends 
to  be  in  sympathy  with  the  righteous  cause  of 
the  people,  while  in  secret  he  makes  his  bar- 
gain and  sale  with  the  corporations. 

Philadelphia  had  in  her  city  council  for 
years  a  band  of  traitors.  The  people  could  get 
no  relief.  The  corporations  nominated  the  can- 
didates. By  an  appeal  to  partisanship  the 
people  were  persuaded  to  elect  them. 

The  city  is  republican.  The  corporations 
controlled  the  republican  party.  The  democrats 
had  no  chance  of  election  because  they  also 
were  too  partisan.  No  candidate  would  risk 
his  political  destiny  on  higher  ground 
than  partisanship.  Reform  under  such  condi- 
tions is  absolutely  impossible  through  the  poli- 
ticians. 

What  was  the  remedy?     An  aroused  public 


2S8        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

sentiment  bigger  than  any  politicial  party. 
There  never  is  any  other  remedy.  The  peo- 
ple themselves  must  act.  This  they  did  in  Phlia 
delphia.  Partisanship  there  has  faded  away  be 
fore  the  vision  of  every  true  man.  The  peo- 
ple and  the  mayor  are  just  now  engaged  in  a 
death  struggle  for  the  municipal  regeneration  of 
that  city. 

The  struggle  is  taking  place  on  hallowed 
ground.  The  dust  of  Revolutionary  patriots  lies 
sleeping  within  the  gates  of  the  city.  The  spirit 
of  these  heroic  dead  gives  inspiration  to  the 
people.  One  would  think  that  there  would  not 
L«  a  single  discordant  note.  One  would  think 
that  the  partisan  with  his  selfish  purpose  would 
not  intrude. 

But  our  expectations  are  rudely  shattered. 
Here  come  twenty-one  politicians  with  a  scheme 
to  convert  this  righteous  public  sentiment  into 
partisan  advantage.  It  reminds  one  of  ghouls 
in  a  graveyard,  or  at  a  railroad  wreck.  No 
wonder  that  Mayor  Weaver  promptly  kicked 
them  ont  as  intruders  on  sacred  ground. 

All  honor  to  Mayor  Weaver  for  the  position 
he  has  taken.  The  American  people  love  an 
honest  and  courageous  man  whenever  they  find 
him  and  they  take  off  their  hats  to  the  mayor 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.         289 


of   Philadelphia   in   his    fight    to    purify   that 
wicked  city. 


POWER    TO     FIX     RATES     IS     NECESSARY     FOR 
GOVERNMENT  CONTROL  OF   RAILWAYS. 

The   Independent  is   in   receipt  of  several 
communications   asking  for   a  clear  cut   state- 
ment of  the  real  issue  in  the  present  railroad 
agitation.      Several    of    these    cominunicatii 
compliment  The  Independent  on  its  clear  pre- 
sentation of  the  pass  question.     Many  readers 
have  told  us  that  they  never  understood  and 
never  fully  appreciated  the  real  evil  and  harm 
done  by  passes  until  the  subject  was  discussed 
in  The  Independent.    One  of  our  correspondents 
asks  for  cur  views  on  the  evils  of  discrimination 
in  freight  rates,  and  also  whether  the  agitation 
now  on  is  simply  to  clothe  the  Interstate  Com- 
merce Commission  with  power  to  prevent  dis- 
crimination, or,  whether  it  is  intended  that  the 
Commission  shall  also  have  power  to  fix  and 
control  freight  rates. 

Rebates,  like  free  passes,  are  wrong  for  two 
reasons.  In  the  first  place,  rebates  have  the 
effect  of  bribing  those  who  receive  these  favors. 
The  small  shipper  never  receives  rebates.® Dis- 
crimination  always   runs   against  him   and   in 


290        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

favor  of  the  larger  shippers.  Generally  speak- 
ing, large  shippers  are  not  unfriendly  to  the 
railroads.  They  are  the  friends  of  the  rail- 
roads. They  do  not  favor  any  agitation  look- 
ing to  a  reduction  in  freight  rates.  They  al- 
ready have  the  reduction.  These  large  shippers 
therefore,  when  any  agitation  is  on  for  a  re- 
duction in  freight  rates,  are  either  bribed  into 
silence  or  else  they  become  the  open  defenders 
of  the  railroads.  In  Wisconsin  two  years  ago, 
when  Governor  La  Follette  was  battling  for  a 
railroad  commission  with  power  to  control 
rates  in  that  state,  the  large  shippers  of  the 
state  joined  the  railroads  to  defeat  La  Follette's 
bill.  In  other  words,  the  large  shippers  were 
bribed  by  the  rebates  they  were  receiving,  some 
to  remain  silent  and  others  to  become  active 
and  able  defenders  of  the  railroads.  And  why 
did  they  do  this  ?  They  did  it  because  of  the 
rebates  they  were  receiving;  they  did  it  be- 
cause of  the  discrimination  in  their  favor  and 
against  the  smaller  shippers.  If  this  is  not 
bribery,  The  Independent  would  like  to  know 
what  the  true  definition  is  ? 

In  the  second  place,  rebate  giving  is  wrong 
because  it  is  unjust  discrimination.  There  is 
no  reason  why  one  man  in  business  should  have 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.        291 

an  advantage  over  his  competitor  by  receiving 
these  secret  rebates.  The  government  should 
see  to  it  that  the  railroads  treat  all  freight 
shippers  alike,  just  as  much  as  though  the 
government  owned  the  railroads.  When  one 
class  of  shippers  pays  lower  than  the  current 
rates  the  railroads  must  make  up  the  deficiency 
from  the  smaller  shippers,  which  means  higher 
freight  rates  for  the  people  at  large.  If  no 
rebates  were  given,  freight  rates  could  be  re- 
duced considerably  from  what  they  are  now, 
and  the  railroads  still  make  as  much  money  as 
they  are  making  now. 

So  much  for  rebates  and  discrimination. 
There  is,  however,  a  greater  and  far  more  im- 
portant question  before  the  American  people 
rhan  simply  the  prevention  of  receiving  and 
giving  of  rebates.  The  people  want  the  Inter- 
state Commerce  Commission  to  have  power,  not 
only  to  prevent  discrimination  in  rates,  but  to 
fix  and  control  rates.  The  railroads  are  main- 
taining literary  bureaus  all  over  the  country 
and  are  telling  the  people  that  the  Interstate 
Commerce  Commission  should  not  be  clothed 
with  the  power  to  control  rates.  They  concede 
that  rebate  giving  should  be  stopped,  and  that 
the    Interstate    Commerce    Commission   should 


JJ2        Tlic  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

be  invested  with  power  to  correct  this  evil,  but 
they  contend  that  to  go  farther  would  be  dan- 
gerous to  both  the  railroads  and  the  people. 
The  reader  will  observe  that  there  is  a  vast 
difference  between  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Commission  having  power  to  simply  prevent 
discrimination  and  the  power  to  control  and  fix 
rates. 

The  Independent  maintains  that  if  no  free 
passes  were  given  in  passenger  transportation, 
and  if  no  rebates  were  given  in  freight  rates, 
both  freight  and  passenger  rates  could  be  con- 
siderably reduced  and  the  railroads  still  make 
just  as  much  money  as  now.  It  must  be  re- 
membered, however,  that  the  railroads  on  their 
own  motion  will  not  reduce  either  freight  or 
passenger  rates,  even  if  all  free  passes  and  dis- 
crimination in  freight  rates  are  stopped.  The 
government  must  be  clothed  with  power  to  con- 
trol and  fix  rates,  and  when  it  has  that  power 
is  can  then  reduce  rates  to  where  they  belong. 
If  after  free  passes  and  rebates  are  abolished, 
rates  are  not  to  be  lowered,  then  the  people 
have  no  interest  of  any  kind  in  the  agitation 
that  is  now  going  on.  In  that  case  the  preven- 
tion of  rebates  is  simply  a  battle  between  ship- 
oers  and  between  cities,     lias  it  ever  occurred 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.        293 

to  the  leader  that  the  question  of  rebates  is 
largely  a  battle  between  different  shippers  and 
between  different  cities  ?  Has  it  ever  occurred 
to  the  reader  that  large  shippers  never  agitate 
a  reduction  in  freight  rates  ?  All  these  ship- 
pers want  is  a  rate  as  good  as  their  competitors 
receive.  Boards  of  Trade  in  cities,  generally 
speaking,  are  battling  with  the  railroads,  not 
for  a  reduction  of  rates,  but  for  an  equaliza- 
tion of  rates  between  cities  and  between  com- 
petitors. The  reader  must  bear  in  mind  that 
there  is  a  vast  distinction  between  discrimina- 
tion in  rates  and  extortion  in  rates.  We  want 
to  get  rid  of  discrimination,  it  is  true,  but  we 
also  want  to  get  rid  of  extortion  in  rates.  Be- 
fore we  will  get  rid  of  extortion  in  rates,  both 
passenger  and  freight,  the  government  must, 
have  power  to  say  what  are  reasonable  rates 
and  make  the  railroads  obey  any  order  that 
the  government  makes.  "While  shippers  and 
Boards  of  Trade  are  battling  for  the  abolition 
of  rebates,  let  the  people  arouse  themselves  and 
battle  for  a  reduction  of  rates.  Better  still, 
let  the  people  battle  for  government  ownership. 


THE   REAL  OPTIMIST. 
At  the  present  time  the  press  of  the  country 
teems  with  tales  of  corruption,  dishonesty  and 
injustice  in  business  and  in  politics.     The  worst 


29£        Tlie  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

stories  are  of  commercial  dishonesty  which 
emanates  from  the  greed  for  money  and  the 
luxury  and  social  distinction  which  it  brings. 

But  it  is  a  superficial  view  which  discovers 
pessimism  in  the  exposures  and  complaints  of 
these  evils.  For  the  press  is  also  fruitful  in 
remedies  for  them,  and  the  burden  of  its  con- 
tention is  that  they  must  be  applied.  This  indi- 
cates a  spirit  of  hopeful  and  courageous  opti- 
mism ;  courageous  in  exposing  the  wrongs  which 
are  committed  mainly  by  the  strong  and  the 
great,  and  hopeful  in  pertinaceously  pressing 
remedies  for  them. 

Another  ground  for  optimism  is  the  keen 
apprehension  by  the  public  or  its  representa- 
tives of  prevailing  evil  and  the  great  ability 
with  which  both  wrongs  and  remedies  are  pre- 
sented. In  the  universal  chorus  of  condemna- 
tion there  is  no  note  of  despair.  That  fact 
holds  the  true  American  spirit,  and  which  will 
be  the  saving  grace  of  the  nation. 

When,  therefore,  The  Independent  uncovers 
bad  men  and  bad  measures  it  is  for  the  primary 
and  preliminary  purpose  of  helping  to  put  good 
men  and  good  measures  in  their  place.  This 
i--  the  highest  optimism. 

The  work  of  the  greatest  champion  of  purity. 


The  Free  Fass  Bribery  System.        295 


equity  and  good  will  toward  men  was  as  much 
destructive  as  it  was  constructive.  He  lashed 
the  money-changers  out  of  the  temple,  while 
he  healed  the  sick  and  fed  the  hungry.  With 
unsparing  invective  he  shamed  and  sought  to 
destroy  the  presumptuous  ascendancy  and  the 
selfish  vices  of  the  rich  and  the  hypocrisy  of 
self-satisfied  Phariseeism.  But  lie  pressed  in 
their  stead  a  new  dispensation,  the  equality 
of  individual  rights,  the  value  of  a  man  and 
the  universal  brotherhood  of  men. 


BLINDFOLDING  GOOD  MEN. 

One  of  the  most  pernicious  effects  of  the 
free  pass  system  is  that  it  blindfolds  good  men. 
Herein  lies  its  greatest  evil  to  the  community 
and  its  greatest  value  to  the  railway. 

The  upright  man  who  would  spurn  a  money 
bribe  with  hot  resentment  does  not  hesitate  to 
accept  a  pass,  which  is  dollars  and  cents  to 
the  railway.  What  the  lobbyist  cannot  gain  by 
gold  he  frequently  accomplishes  by  a  judicious 
distribution  of  passes.  Should  the  man  who 
seeks  or  is  offered  a  pass  fail  to  receive  it  he 
would  pay  his  fare  and  the  railway  would  ob- 
tain its  due  compensation  in  money. 

Of  late,   prominent   railway   officials   have 


296        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

declared  that  they  are  eager  to  be  rid  of  the 
free  pass  system,  but  the  sincerity  of  the  state- 
ment may  well  be  questioned.  Undoubtedly 
the  railway  official  gives  many  passes  he  would 
be  glad  to  refuse.  It  is  one  of  tk<3  inevitable 
results  of  the  system,  but  the  men  who  own  and 
control  the  railways  of  the  country  bear  it  with 
equanimity.  They  realize  that  the  commercial 
value  of  a  pass  is  frequently  more  to  them  than 
it?  equivalent  in  money.  Sometimes  it  has  a 
value  in  exchange  for  votes  when  money  is 
powerless. 

If  the  secrets  of  legislative  halls  could  be 
revealed  in  their  true  light  it  would  be  found 
that  the  balance  of  power  is  frequently  held  by 
men  who  would  refuse  a  money  bribe,  but  who 
make  a  practice  of  riding  on  passes.  Can  it 
be  fairly  doubted  that  such  men  will  be  influ- 
enced in  favor  of  the  railways  when  the  time 
comes  to  cast  their  votes  ?  In  this  and  in  other 
states  legislation  planned  to  grant  some  special 
privilege  to  the  railways  has  been  enacted  by 
means  of  such  balance  of  power.  The  pass  sys- 
tem abolished,  that  balance  of  power  would 
shift  to  the  side  of  right  and  justice. 

The  power  of  the  pass  over  such  men  is  in- 
sidious because  they  are  often  unconscious  of 


Th  e  Free  Pass  Bribery  System,        29 1 

the  extent  to  which  they  have  been  influenced. 
Invariably  they  are  found  voting  for  the  meas- 
ures supported  by  the  railways.  When  they 
are  called  upon  by  their  constituents  to  explain 
their  votes  they  are  astonished,  because,  being 
blinded  by  the  iniquity  into  which  they  have 
fallen,  they  have  failed  to  understand  both  the 
atrocity  of  the  bill  and  the  opposition  of  the 
people. 

As  long  as  the  railways  can  use  the  pass 
system  to  such  advantage  they  will  be  loth  to 
see  it  destroyed.  They  will  consent  to  be  "held 
up"  by  the  political  highwayman,  by  the  boss, 
the  ward-heeler  and  the  influential  citizen  of 
greedy  instincts  rather  than  surrender  the 
power  of  controlling  votes  by  means  of  passes. 

From  this  point  of  view  it  is  not  difficult 
to  appreciate  the  perennial  potency  of  the  pass 
and  to  understand  why  it  is  that  the  system  can 
never  be  crushed  out  of  existence  save  by  radical 
legislation. 


THE  AWAKENING. 


There  are  those  who  confront  the  great 
problems  of  the  day  with  timid  hearts,  fearing 
the    forces    of   error    and    forgetting   that    the 


208        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

Master   said:     "Know   the   truth   and   it   shall 
make  you  free." 

It  is  natural  that  those  who  see  immense 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  eliminating  the  ills 
that  beset  the  body  politic  should  be  troubled 
in  mind  lest  the  power  of  corruption  prove  too 
strong  to  be  dethroned.  The  advocates  of  spe- 
cial privilege  have  taken  advantage  of  this  faint- 
heartedness to  encourage  the  people  in  the  be- 
lief that  reforms  are  impossible  of  attainment. 
One  of  the  chief  arguments  against  municipal 
ownership  is  that  the  intrusion  of  politics  will 
prove  disastrous.  Although  it  is  now  well  un- 
derstood in  this  country  that  municipal  owner- 
ship has  been  successful  in  England,  we  are 
warned  that  different  results  must  be  expected 
in  the  United  States.  This  is  an  indictment 
that  the  people  cannot  afford  to  accept  as  the 
truth,  and  the  most  hopeful  sign  of  the  times 
is  that  they  are  apparently  determined  to  prove 
its  falsity. 

The  individual  should  remember  thai  hu- 
man happiness  is  not  assured  by  social  reforms. 
Under  the  best  forms  of  government,  when  the 
people  are  freest  and  all  share  fairly  in  the 
general  prosperity,  the  individual  may  be  mis- 
erable.    As  only  the  desire  to  know  the  truth 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.        299 

and  abide  by  it  in  matters  of  personal  conduct 
can  bring  haj)piness  to  the  individual,  so  only 
the  desire  to  know  the  truth  and  abide  by  it 
in  matters  of  state  can  secure  those  reforms 
which  make  the  pursuit  of  happiness  possible. 

In  the  middle  west  so  much  has  already  been 
accomplished  for  reform  that  the  opponents 
of  railway  and  trust  domination  are  no  longer 
dispirited  by  the  croakings  of  the  professional 
pessimist.  They  look  to  the  future  wTith  the 
sun  in  their  eyes,  dazzled,  perhaps,  by  the 
brightness  of  their  vision,  but  certain  that  the 
triumphs  of  tomorrow  will  far  surpass  those 
of  today.  Inspired,  therefore,  by  the  evidences 
of  progress  about  them  they  take  up  as  a  refrain 
the  words  of  the  poet  who  sang,  "I  doubt  not 
through  the  ages  one  increasing-  purpose  runs, 
and  the  thoughts  of  men  are  widened  with  the 
process  of  the  suns." 

And  so  if  the  ways  are  dark  and  the 
obstacles  seem  many  and  insuperable  here  in 
Nebraska,  where  the  railways  have  so  long  been 
dominant  in  politics,  the  citizen  need  only  turn 
his  gaze  upon  neighboring  states  to  find  re- 
newed hope  and  encouragement.  If  the  people 
are  not  always  able  to  destroy  enthroned  wrong 
quickly  it  is  not  because  they  are  corrupt  or 


800        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

daunted  by  the  strength  of  the  enemy  they  are 
called  upon  to  assail,  but  rather  because  the 
true  remedies  for  present  evils  can  only  be 
discovered  by  patient  research  and  constant  dis- 
cussion. And  when  the  seekers  after  the  truth 
know  the  truth  they  may  feel  certain  that  it 
will  make  them  free.  It  was  in  such  a  confident 
spirit  that  our  revolutionary  forefathers  carried 
on  the  agitation  against  taxation  without  rep- 
resentation and  won  their  independence. 

The  headway  which  has  been  made  against 
the  railways  in  Wisconsin,  grafters  in  Missouri, 
Standard  Oil  in  Kansas,  and  the  antagonists 
of  municipal  ownership  in  Chicago,  should 
serve  to  convince  the  people  that  they  will  yet 
obtain  such  legislation  as  will  take  the  railways 
and  corporations  out  of  politics. 

The  spirit  of  independence  is  still  strong 
in  the  hearts  of  the  American  people.  For 
some  years  it  slumbered  amid  the  platitudes 
of  partisanship  while  the  trusts  were  growing 
into  gianthood.  It  required  grave  crisis  to 
awaken  this  spirit  from  its  sleep,  but  none  can 
doubt  that  the  awakening  has  come.  It  is  abso- 
lutely essential  that  the  citizens  of  every  com- 
monwealth should  believe  that  the  right  shall 
prevail.     It  is  upon  this  principle  tliat_all  sue- 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.        302 

cessful  agitation  is  founded^  and  it  is  only  bv 
confidence  in  the  power  of  truth  to  achieve 
what  the  Master  has  promised  that  state  or  na- 
tion can  be  freed  from  the  joke  of  the  un- 
righteous. 


George  W.  Berge. 


A  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

(By  William  M.  Morning) 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 


George  W.  Berge. 

George  W.  Berge,  the  author  of  this  book, 
needs  no  introduction  to  the  people.  They 
know  who  he  is  and  what  he  stands  for.  They 
know  that  when  he  enters  a  fight  he  stays  with 
it  until  the  end,  and  that  he  never  enlists  in 
a.  fight  unless  he  believes  in  the  righteousness 
of  his  cause.  And  yet  perhaps  it  is  fitting 
that  one  who  has  been  associated  with  him 
intimately  in  the  practice  of  law  almost  con- 
tinuously for  the  last  twelve  years  should  say 
a  few  words  in  regard  to  Mr.  Berge  and  lay 
before  the  readers  some  of  the  simple  details 
of  his  life,  which  the  general  public  would  be 
interested  in  knowing. 

George  W.  Berge  is  a  self-made  man.  He 
was  born  on  a  farm  near  the  City  of  Peoria, 
Illinois.  His  parents  are  natives  of  Germany, 
who  came  to  this  country  poor,  but  possessing 
those  elements  of  industry,  honesty  and  frugality 
which  makes  success  inevitable.  His  parents 
still  live  upon  a  farm  near  Mendota,  Illinois, 
where  they  have  reared  their  family,  and  where 


S06        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

by  hard  work  and  good  management,  they  have 
accumulated  enough  property  to  be  in  com- 
fortable and  easy  circumstances. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  spent  his  boyhood 
upon  the  farm  and  toiled  in  the  fields  in  sum- 
mer, and  attended  the  district  school  in  win/ 
ter,  the  same  as  most  country  boys  in  his  neigh- 
borhood. Later  he  attended  the  normal  schools 
at  Valparaiso,  Ind.,  and  at  Dixon,  111.,  and 
fitted  himself  for  teaching  school.  He  taught 
school  a  number  of  years,  and  incidently  began 
the  study  of  law.  After  studying  law  in  the 
office  of  S.  H.  Bethea,  now  United  States  Dis- 
trict Attorney  for  the  Northern  District  of 
Illinois,  and  also  in  the  office  of  J.  W.  Watts, 
who  was  at  that  time  dean  of  the  law  faculty 
at  Dixon,  Mr.  Berge  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  before  the  appellate  court  at  Ottawa  in 
the  spring  of  1890.  He  then  located  at  Lin- 
coln, Nebraska,  where  he  has  ever  since  re- 
sided. When  he  came  to  Lincoln  he  was  penni- 
less and  without  acquaintances  west  of  the 
Mississippi  River.  He  took  desk  room  with 
one  of  the  established  firms  of  the  city,  but 
found  fees  so  slow  in  coming  in  that  he  was 
obliged  to  fall  back  upon  his  old  occupation 
of  school  teaching  to  provide  the  funds  neces- 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.        301 

sary  to  pay  expenses  until  he  could  establish 
himself  in  his  law  practice.  He  was  employed 
to  teach  the  College  View  school,  and  taught 
there  for  six  months.  "Uncle  Jake"  Wolfe  was  a 
member  of  the  school  board,  and  the  relation  of 
school  trustee  and  teacher  ripened  into  a 
warm  personal  friendship  between  "Uncle 
Jake"  and  Mr.  Berge,  which  has  been  strength- 
ened with  the  passing  years. 

With  his  exchequer  thus  meagerly  re- 
plenished he  again  took  up  the  practice  of  law 
in  the  City  of  Lincoln.  Since  that  time  he 
has  enjoyed  a  lucrative  and  growing  practice, 
and  is  now  the  head  of  the  law  firm  of  Berge, 
Morning  &  Ledwith.  Mr.  Berge  is  an  able 
lawyer,  who  refuses  to  take  a  case  unless  he 
believes  his  client  is  in  the  right,  and  then  he 
throws  his  whole  heart  and  soul  into  his  client's 
cause,  and  regardless  of  whether  fees  come  in 
or  whether  they  do  not,  he  never  ceases  to  fight 
for  his  client  until  he  has  either  won  his  case, 
or  until  the  final  judgment  of  the  court  ter- 
minates the  litigation.  Some  remarkable  cases 
might  be  mentioned  showing  this  characteristic 
of  Mr.  Berge.  The  writer  is  personally  fa- 
miliar with  a  number  of  cases  in  which  Mr. 
Berge  has  worked  for  clients  for  years  with- 


S08        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

out  pay  and  in  addition  thereto  has  advanced 
his  own  expenses  in  order  that  his  clients'  rights 
might  receive  proper  and  deserved  vindication. 
When  once  he  enlists  himself  in  any  cause  the 
matter  of  compensation  becomes  of  secondary 
consideration.  His  aim  and  ambition  is  to 
win  his  clients'  case. 

Another  rather  unusual  characteristic  of 
Mr.  Berge  as  a  lawyer  is  the  fact  that  very 
often  clients  come  to  him  with  what  they  con- 
ceive to  be  good  cases,  and  upon  thorough  in- 
vestigation of  the  cases,  if  he  concludes  that 
they  are  not  well  founded  in  fact  or  in  law, 
he  declines  to  take  them.  Mr.  Berge  believes 
not  only  that  lawyers  should  decline  to  accept 
cases  in  which  they  know  their  clients  are 
wrong,  but  that  no  conscientious  lawyer  can  do 
good  work  for  a  client  unless  he  believes  that 
his  client  is  right. 

;  As  a  man  Mr.  Berge  possesses  a  charactei 
which  is  without  blemish.  He  has  not  a  single 
bad  habit.  He  is  pure  minded  and  chaste  in 
his  thoughts  and  language.  His  home  life  is 
ideal.  He  idealizes  his  wife  and  child.  He 
is  a  typical  high  grade  American  citizen,  simple 
and  plain,  and  yet  dignified  and  self-respecting, 
loving  his  home,  loving  purety,  and  insisting 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.        SO 9 

upon  justice  and  fair  play  in  all  the  relations 
of  life,  both  public  and  private.  He  is  a  man 
of  correct  standards  and  lofty  ideals.  He  is 
thoroughly  honest  and  absolutely  fearless.  He 
is  an  orator  of  rare  ability. 

Mr.  Berge  cast  his  first  vote  in  Nebraska 
for  Hon.  John  Powers  for  governor,  and  since 
that  time  he  has  been  an  active  worker  in  the 
reform  movement  in  this  state,  and  has  affiliated 
with  the  Peoples  Independent  Party.  In  1894 
he  was  elected  county  judge  of  Lancaster 
County,  but  was  prevented  by  litigation  from 
enjoying  the  office,  as  the  suit  was  not  decided 
in  his  favor  in  the  Supreme  Court  until  the 
term  of  office  had  expired.  It  might  be  of 
interest  in  this  connection  to  note  as  an  index 
to  Mr.  Berge's  character  that  although  he 
would  have  been  entitled  to  the  salary  of  the 
office,  which  the  court  finally  held  he  had 
been  unlawfully  kept  out  of,  he  refused  to 
claim  the  salary,  because  he  had  rendered 
no  services  to  the  public,  and  as  the  county 
had  paid  the  salary  once  he  felt  tfhat  it  would 
be  unjust  to  require  it  to  be  paid  a  second  time. 

In  1900  he  was  the  fusion  nominee  for 
Congress  in  the  First  Congressional  District, 
and   although   defeated,   he   ran    ahead   of  his 


S10        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

ticket,   especially  in  Lancaster  County,  where 
he  received  the  highest  vote  of  any  candidate 
on  the  ticket.     This  fact  testifies  to  the  esteem 
in  which  Mr.  Berge  is  held  by  his  neighbors. 
In  1904  he  was  the  fusion  candidate  for 
governor  of  Nebraska,  and  made,  perhaps,  the 
most  memorable  campaign  in  the  history  of  the 
state.     Though  his  supporters  at  the  opening 
of  the  campaign  were  discouraged,  and  without 
hope,  it  was  not  long  until  his  splendid  oratory 
and  irresistible  earnestness  and  enthusiasm  had 
converted  a  campaign,  which  at  first  promised 
nothing   but   hopeless   defeat,    into   one   which 
toward  the  end  seemed  to  promise  certain  vic- 
tory.    Although  he  was  defeated,  an  examina- 
tion of  the  returns  showed  that  nothing  but  the 
overwhelming  Roosevelt  landslide  saved  his  op- 
ponent from  a  crushing  defeat.     For  instance: 
Roosevelt's    plurality    in    Nebraska    was    over 
86,000,  while  Mr.  Berge  was  defeated  by  less 
than  10,000.     In  Douglas  County  Roosevelt's 
plurality  was  over  9,000,  while  Mr.  Berge  car- 
ried it  by  over   2,000,   showing  a  change  in 
favor  of  Mr.  Berge  in  that  one  county  alone  of 
over  11,000  votes.    In  the  whole  state  he  ran 
over   30,000   votes   ahead   of  his   ticket.      The 
keynote  of  his  campaign  was  government  owner- 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.        311 

ship  of  railroads,  and  until  that  time  strict 
control.  He  denounced  The_Free  Pass  System 
as  a  bribery  system  which  has  taken  the  control 
of  the  state  government  out  of  the  hands  of 
the__peop.le-  He  denounced  the  professional 
lobby  in  the  severest  terms.  He  gave  the  rail- 
roads to  understand  that  the  past  evil  must 
be  driven  out  of  public  life.  Since  the  close 
of  that  campaign  he  has  purchased  and  is  now 
editor  and  proprietor  of  The  Nebraska  Inde- 
pendent. He  is  conducting  it  as  an  independent 
weekly  paper,  and  is  making  it  one  of  the 
strongest  champions  of  the  people  in  the  entire 
country. 

The  purpose  of  this  book  is  to  lay  before 
the  people  of  this  country,  and  especially  Ne- 
braska, the  evils  of  The  Free  Pass  System,  and 
to  endeavor  to  arouse  such  a  concerted  move- 
ment on  the  part  of  all  the  political  parties  of 
this  state  as  to  insure  the  utter  blotting  out  and 
eradication  of  The  Free  Pass  System  from  our 
politics.  "While  he  discusses  principally  con- 
ditions in  Nebraska,  the  same  will  apply  in 
most  of  the  other  states.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
Mr.  Berge  in  the  magnificient  fight  which  he 
is  now  waging  against  this  evil  will  receive  the 
loyal   support   of   all   good   citizens   regardless 


812        The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System. 

of  party.  It  is  not  a  party  matter.  It  is  an 
evil  which  exists  in  all  parties,  and  it  should 
be  treated  as  a  non-partisan  evil  and  the  citi- 
zens of  this  state  and  of  all  the  states  should 
unite  in  removing  this  far  reaching  evil  from 
their  public  life.  Then  they  will  have  a  fair 
opportunity  of  exercising  influence  in  their 
party  councils.  So  long  as  this  pass  evil  exists 
it  will  control  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  all 
political  parties  and  especially  the  dominant 
party  of  any  given  state,  and  the  result  will 
be  railroad  government  with  all  its  attendant 
svils. 

This  book  was  written  by  Mr.  Berge  under 
great  difficulties.  He  is  a  very  busy  man.  Not 
only  is  he  the  editor  of  The  Independent  and 
obliged  to  give  a  great  part  of  his  time  to 
that  work,  but  he  is  also  an  active  and  very 
busy  lawyer,  and  in  addition  to  that  he  is  called 
upon  to  make  a  great  many  public  addresses 
requiring  research  and  preparation,  and  yet  in 
the  midst  of  all  this  work  he  felt  it  his  duty 
to  prepare  this  book,  and  he  has  done  so  since 
the  close  of  the  campaign  of  1904,  at  such  odd 
times  as  he  could  find  in  the  midst  of  his  other 
numerous  and  pressing  duties  and  labors.  It 
is  to  be  hoped  that  those  interested  in  solving 


The  Free  Pass  Bribery  System.        SIS 

this  railroad  question  will  read  this  book  and 
hand  it  to  others  to  be  read  in  order  that  the 
public  may  become  thoroughly  enlightened 
upon  this  question,  and  that,  as  a  result,  a 
strong  united  public  sentiment  may  grow  up 
and  ultimately  crystallize  into  a  movement 
which  will  blot  this  evil  from  our  public  life 
for   all   time   to   come. 

WILLIAM  M.  MORNING. 


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